For Freedom’s Sake

by Phiwa Langeni | published on Sep 12, 2025

Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again. – Galatians 5:1 (CEB) 

The dull orange bulbs on the New Mexico road sign displayed the pixelated warning very clearly: 

DON’T DRAG CHAINS 

ONE SPARK CAN START A WILDFIRE

While I was certain my vehicle was safe from the warning, I wasn’t so sure my spirit was.  

Even after chains have been loosed, we sometimes forget to leave them behind. We grow accustomed to their consistent clatter: unmet expectations, inherited guilt, half-healed wounds we’ve convinced ourselves are a thing of the past. 

We drag chains in the most subtle ways. Performing wellness while we actively burn out. Smiling through injustices to keep the peace. Staying silent when truth is clawing at our throats. It may resemble responsibility. It may appear to be leadership. But sometimes, it’s just fear in disguise. 

And those unchecked fears spark wildfires. In our relationships. In our churches. In our communities. Even in our bodies. What begins as a single unresolved ache can ignite devastation far beyond us. Left to fester in one heart, it can wound entire communities. 

Faith teaches us we’ve been set free. Practice teaches our lives to echo that truth. 

Indeed, Christ has set us free for freedom. The kind that breathes. The kind that heals. The kind that lets us travel lightly, led by love instead of weighed down by all the stuff we were never meant to carry. For freedom’s sake, let go of the chains.  

Before they spark devastation. 

Prayer
Liberating God, you’ve already broken every chain, but sometimes we forget to stop dragging them. Teach us to trust your freedom more than our fear, to release what no longer serves us, and to move through this life lightly, wisely, and well. Amen.

Phiwa LangeniAbout the Author
Phiwa Langeni creatively invites others into transformational liminal spaces between what has been and what is yet to be. They currently serve as the Associate Conference Minister for Equipping Leaders in the Southern California Nevada Conference UCC.