Earning Freedom – July 07, 2002
Most of us want to be free. It’s a universal need that lays the foundation for all we ever hope to do or enjoy. Even the mention of the word “freedom” has the power to stir deep-rooted feelings in the hearts of all its loyal friends. But common folk wisdom reminds us that freedom isn’t always free. Sometimes, in order to gain a measure of personal freedom, we first need to give some up.
Henry Box Brown was a Virginia slave who desperately wanted to escape into a free state. But the odds were against him. He knew he’d be easily detected if he used ordinary methods of travel. While he was searching his mind for alternatives, he was suddenly struck with an ingenious idea: He would mail himself to freedom inside a wooden box. But this feat would not be without grave danger. Suffocation, dehydration, heat exhaustion, even being turned upside down would pose a serious threat to his life. But he decided that it would be worth it.
We too can at times benefit from placing ourselves into a box of self-denial. A struggling high school student was facing a bleak future brought on by neglect. Her grades were failing, she wasn’t giving her best effort as a member of the track team, and her prospects for college were diminishing. With a little encouragement from friends, she decided to give up some of her leisure time to work harder. And work she did. Her grades improved along with her athletic abilities. She went on to win three state championship titles; scholarship offers followed. This student learned that by denying herself a certain degree of personal freedom, she had earned the liberty of choosing the course of her future.
When Henry Box Brown finally arrived in Philadelphia and the box carrying him was opened, he was so happy to be free that the first thing he did was sing a hymn of thanksgiving.1 As we thoughtfully make those sacrifices we deem truly necessary to our future freedom, we too may feel we’re enclosed in a dark and confining box. But soon we’ll emerge in songful gratitude for our new life.
Program #3803
1. See Henry Box Brown, Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).