SIXTEEN TONS

In the 1950's, singer Tennessee Ernie Ford popularized a song by Merle Travis titled, "Sixteen Tons." It was a coal miner's lament that no matter how hard he worked, he felt trapped and unable to change his situation.

Early coal miners worked long, hard hours deep in the earth under severely unhealthy conditions. They often lived in company owned houses and were paid in "scrip," coupons that could only be used at the company store. Their children grew up in squalor and seemed destined to work in the mines also. Hence, they felt trapped by their world of work.

The Company embodied the world's evil, and the miner felt possessed and unable to change his situation. Even if he were summoned to heaven, he couldn't go because the Company "owned" him. The final line in the chorus went, "St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go - I owe my soul to the Company Store."

Sin traps us all. No matter what we think we can do, we cannot remove the consequences of our sin. We can change, but we still need a Savior, One who can transcend the squalor of our sin and bring us cleansed to God. Jesus is that Savior.

People of all ages have struggled with feelings of hopelessness and bondage due to lack of finances, poor health and a bad relationship. Sometimes the bondage is imagined, but more often it is actual, such as when nations shackle certain peoples who do not fit their national needs.

Jews have struggled with bondage since the Egyptians enslaved them 3500 years ago. Since the time of the Romans, Christians have been enslaved and killed for their faith, and even today today many believers are "owned" by cultures who believe they should be removed or even destroyed.

God does not abandon His people when they become trapped. God told the enslaved people of Israel in Exodus 6:6, "I will rescue you from their bondage and will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments." We may feel trapped by a relationship, debt, or a hospital bed, but God is always there to rescue us.

God rescues His people in many ways, but the best way is through His Son Jesus Christ. St. Paul said, "While we were powerless to help ourselves, Christ died for sinners." (Romans 5:6 - Phillips) When life is at its lowest ebb, we are not without hope because we have God's grace by faith in Christ Jesus.

No one is hopeless whose hope is in God.