God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 MSG

With school and work starting, people trying to get back to normal, we can feel like a captive of time. But remember, if you chose God, you are free. You do not have to be a captive of anything. You are free in God’s Word.

But those who don’t know God do not have that luxury. They are stuck as captives until they see God. So they might lash out. Or they might try to constrain us like they are constrained. Despite what they do, our job as free servants of Christ is to help free them. To help them see God by working patiently with them, by trusting that God will make a way. So we can not let ourselves be caught in the trap with them. We have to remember we are free in God, and we need to help others be free as well.