CAN THE PLACE WE CHOOSE BECOME OUR EXILE?

Philipose Vaidyar

We usually think of exile as being taken away from our land and captivity as being forced to live under someone else’s power. But what if we choose the place ourselves?

What if the place we chose, the life we dreamed of, slowly becomes our captivity?

What if the place you longed for, worked hard to reach, and once considered your dream gradually becomes the place from which you cannot easily escape?

Can a place we choose become an exile?

The Bible gives us some uncomfortable pictures of this.

Egypt was not always a prison

When Jacob and his family went to Egypt, they were not prisoners. There was famine in the land, Joseph was there, and food was available. A place had been prepared for them.

They settled there and multiplied.

Then something changed.

A new king came to power who did not know Joseph. The people who had once been welcomed became slaves.

The land that had provided food became the land that held them captive.

What began as refuge became bondage.

God eventually brought them out. He had not rescued them simply to make them homeless. He had a place for them—a land of promise where they could live under His rule.

Yet Egypt continued to live in their imagination.

Whenever the wilderness became difficult, some wanted to go back. They remembered Egypt's food but forgot its slavery.

They were out of Egypt, but Egypt was still inside them.

Then came Babylon

Generations later, Babylon brought another kind of exile.

Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and carried many of Judah's leading people away to Babylon. This time there was no choice.

But when further trouble came, some of the people again looked toward Egypt for security. Jeremiah warned them not to go.

The temptation was familiar:

When the present becomes difficult, we look for another place to save us.

What about us?

We may not be carried away by soldiers.

We may not be sold as slaves.

We may not even have been forced to leave home.

We may have chosen our destination.

A young professional gets an opportunity overseas. A family moves to a prosperous city. Someone dreams of better schools, a higher salary, a better house and a more comfortable life.

There is nothing wrong with any of these things.

But another question needs to be asked:

Did I choose this place—or has this place begun to choose my life for me?

That is where modern exile can begin.

The captivity we choose

Many young professionals long to go overseas. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with that.

The problem begins when escape becomes the goal rather than calling.

First comes the salary.

Then the apartment.

Then the car.

Then the latest phone.

Then the upgraded appliances.

Then another holiday.

We work to earn. We earn to buy. We buy to make life easier. Then we work more to maintain the life we have created.

Without noticing it, we can become servants of the lifestyle we thought would make us free.

The chains are no longer visible.

There is Wi-Fi. There is air conditioning. There may be a good car in the garage and a beautiful view from the apartment.

But comfort is not the same as freedom.

What did we leave behind?

The cost may be harder to see.

Family.

Parents.

Children.

Community.

Church.

Responsibility.

Some become so occupied with making life comfortable that they stop asking what their life is actually for.

A consumer culture can quietly reduce life to earning, upgrading and consuming.

Birds leave the nest when they can fly. That is natural.

But human beings are not simply born, raised, employed and released into the world to consume.

We belong to families and communities. We have responsibilities beyond ourselves.

And as Christians, we have a calling beyond consumption.

Where is our promised land?

So perhaps the question is not:

“Should I stay in India or go abroad?”

That is too simple.

The better question is:

“Where does God want me to live, serve and become the person He wants me to be?”

For one person, that may be Kerala.

For another, Delhi.

For another, Dubai, London, Melbourne or Toronto.

For someone else, it may be a remote village that nobody considers prosperous.

The issue is not geography.

The issue is what prosperity does to our hearts.

Egypt was not simply a bad place. Babylon was not simply a good or bad destination.

The deeper issue was whether God's people would trust God or allow circumstances, security and prosperity to determine their direction.

The real exile

Perhaps some of us are physically living in the place we once dreamed about, yet spiritually we are somewhere else.

Some are abroad but longing to return.

Some are in India but constantly dreaming of escape.

Some have everything they once wanted but have lost their sense of purpose.

Some are in the right place but are still looking backward.

The promised land is not simply a geographical location.

It is not Kerala.

It is not America.

It is not Europe.

It is not the Gulf.

The safest place is not necessarily the richest place.

Perhaps the better question is:

“Where can I live the life God has given me most faithfully?”

That may mean staying.

It may mean leaving.

It may mean returning.

It may mean going somewhere we never imagined.

The important thing is to know why we are going and whom we are serving.

We may choose our country.

We may choose our city.

We may choose our house.

We may choose our lifestyle.

But we should be careful.

Sometimes the place we chose can become the place that chooses us.

And sometimes the greatest captivity has no chains at all.

It simply looks like the life we always wanted.