Willie was already old when I began my career. After he spent years in prison, our paths crossed at the County Jail where I worked as a guard. Other inmates called him Pop, as they did any convict over age 40. Pop had an eye that pointed off to one side. I didn’t know which eye to look at when he spoke to me. He told me stories that revealed a life fully institutionalized. 

Incarceration has its own social hierarchy and system of rules. Pop knew how to survive, and thrive, in that environment. Once he became accustomed to that world, however, success became difficult in the other. After decades of imprisonment, Pop couldn’t make it on the outside. 

One day, while local police were investigating an outdoor crime scene, Pop snuck up with a short-barrel shotgun. He fired a round over the cops’ heads and immediately threw the weapon down. He sprawled out on the ground with his hands up and surrendered. It became obvious what his intentions were. 

“I don’t think I can make it on the outside, Andy. I’ve been in here most of my life. I’m an institutional man now.” (Red, in The Shawshank Redemption)

Pop wanted to go back to prison. That was the world he knew. Incarceration was familiar. It was safe and predictable. His alleged attempt to kill officers guaranteed him high status when he returned to the penitentiary. He went back to confinement, this time with street cred.

Tell me we live in a broken world without telling me so. Why would someone choose captivity over freedom? The short answer? It’s human nature. People often prefer safety and the familiar, even when it results in losing freedom.

One day, Jesus had a frank conversation with some religious leaders. He told them, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They bristled. “We’ve never been enslaved to anyone,” they said. Jesus disagreed. “Everyone who sins is a slave of sin,” He said. “Unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” These men needed freedom, but they were too blind to see it.

The source of freedom was standing right in front of them. Jesus said His mission was “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,” These men needed both, just like the rest of us. They, however, chose bondage through disbelief. I prefer freedom through faith. “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:36)