“There is a relationship between sin and death. Sin causes death, and the fear of death leads one to sin and thus to bondage, Christ sets us free from this bondage of sin and death.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Hebrews 2:15)
“There are myriad things that can keep us in bondage but three are particularly strong and weapons of the strong man (Matthew 12:43-45) that we buy into all too readily. They are be self-deception, being unteachable, and control… The strong man is the devil who tries to keep us all in bondage and we often make the mistake of fighting him on our own, fighting our sinful inclinations through will power alone instead of inviting the devil’s enemy, Christ, into our lives through the Holy Spirit and fighting through our union with God which is essentially to let God do the fighting.” (Sacramental Living Podcast)
“There are many forms of bondage: fear; addictions to drugs, alcohol, food, and lust; cravings for success, popularity, and good looks. Give your passion over to Him, whatever it may be. Confess it, and He will release you from chains on your soul…Christ is God’s destruction of human bondage and our restoration.” (Dynamis 9/1/2013, 4/7/2012)
"We all know the experience: we have felt pulled between what we think we ought to do, and what we’re tempted to do. If we give in to temptation habitually, we can eventually lose the freedom we first had. That’s the essence of addiction, which may begin with a free act of the will, but ends in bondage and the loss of freedom." (Jonathan Witt and Jay W. Richards)
“Scripture teaches us that God led his people of Israel out of Egypt and into a forty-year journey of hardship in a lonely and forbidding wilderness. And yet, at the end of that journey, they were led from bondage to a glorious land that flowed with milk and honey. From down trodden slaves, He transformed them into a mighty nation envied by others. How wonderful it would be if we could each learn to trust God in those times when we too experience the dark passages that enter our lives…When we come to accept the providential care of God with childlike simplicity we soon discover that the barriers we encounter in our lives, can in retrospect, come to be numbered among our greatest blessings.” (Fr. Andrew Demotses)