“It goes back to what I said about Andy wearing his freedom like an invisible coat, about how he never really developed a prison mentality. His eyes never got that dull look.” – Red, from Shawshank Redemption
A few times per month I’m given the privilege of going to a place where most people have never been before. Although it is full of people, most who live there say it’s the loneliness place in the world. Their food isn’t the greatest (or so they say), and their amenities are quite lacking.
The room I’m assigned to isn’t overly big. It’s uncomfortably stuffy and and warm, reeking of a distinct odor that reminds me that this isn’t a nice place. The plastic seats are incredibly uncomfortable. The table I’m sitting at is quite wobbly. There’s a small shelf in the corner that is littered with old tattered books that were written 40+ years ago. There is constant yelling and shouting going on outside the room. Reinforced plexiglass windows reveal the controlled chaos going on around me. It’s a chore for me to stay focused on why I’m there.
Then, one by one they filter in. Some evenings it’s 12 men, others it’s four or five. And although we begin by briefly talking about how things have been for them over the past week, we spend the next hour talking about something they desperately long for:
True freedom.
As I look into each man’s eyes, I’m reminded of that dull, lifeless look that Ellis “Red” Redding talked about in the movie, Shawshank Redemption. Although I’m not permitted to ask them about the specifics of the poor decisions they made that led them to this place, that doesn’t stop my mind from wondering. Is it theft? Sexual assault? Drug dealing? Repeated DUI offenses? Criminal gang activity? I assume there are no murderers there. Then again, only they know. And it’s best that I don’t know, because then I would be tempted to have personal bias.
So after the smalltalk is finished, I encourage them to open their Bibles. For it is there that the freedom they most desperately need is found.
Although I often joke that the best part of this privilege I have with them is that I get to leave after the 90 minutes is over, the reality is that it’s not really a joke. I am so thankful that I do get to leave. Given my destructive alcoholic past, am I really all that different from them? Were it not for the saving grace of God, would I too be there in that room dressed like them? Lonely like them? Eating the same distasteful food as them? Knowing the same lonely existence like they do?
But I’m grateful for the opportunity to go there and get to know them just well enough to encourage them and share the hope and freedom that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I think Ellis “Red” Redding was onto something however. He noticed it only because he was institutionalized, but he did notice it – that “dull look in peoples’ eyes.” He talked about his friend Andy “wearing freedom like an invisible coat.”
Do we proudly display our freedom in Christ today? Or do we wear it like an invisible coat that no one can notice?
Is your freedom dull? Or does it shine?
Former Blackout Artist 