Sequel to From Wine Broker to Perfume Breaker
Write this as William Wilberforce, on the deception of subconsciously assuming the new wine of systemic reform is expressed as a better Law.
ChatGPT Prompt (condensed)
To the reformers of this modern age,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes all things new—not through might, nor by power, but by His Spirit Zechariah 4:6.
I write to you not from Parliament, nor the halls of policy, but from the quiet sanctum of a heart that has been broken—and thereby made whole. I write not as a strategist, but as a sinner who was once consumed by the urgency of reform, yet rescued by the aroma of grace.
1. We Mistake New Wine for a Better Law
I confess: I once thought the new wine of Christ’s Kingdom could be poured into the old skins of human strategy—political pressure, moral persuasion, rational enlightenment. I thought if I just made the arguments compelling enough, the systems would bend, the chains would break, and righteousness would roll like a river.
But I had it wrong.
New wine is not a better law. It is not a more ethical framework, nor a more inclusive rulebook. It is the living presence of Christ Galatians 2:20—wild, liberating, uncontrollable. And He cannot be sold, only received. He cannot be managed, only magnified.
New wine is not a better law.
It is not a more ethical framework, nor a more inclusive rulebook.
2. The System Wasn’t Changed by My Eloquence
Yes, I argued in Parliament for decades. I marshaled data. I recruited allies. I organized campaigns. But what broke the slave trade was not merely logic—it was the slow, sacrificial, Spirit-led love of people who gave their whole lives to an invisible hope.
Men like Thomas Clarkson, who traversed the kingdom gathering testimony. Women like Hannah More, who wielded her pen as a prophetic sword. Saints like John Newton, the former slaver turned psalmist, who taught me the terrifying and tender weight of grace.
They were not brokering wine. They were breaking perfume Luke 7:36–50. And the fragrance of their offering filled the house of history.
They were not brokering wine. They were breaking perfume
Luke 7:36–50
3. We Need Perfume Breakers Now
You—modern reformers—are tempted to broker the Kingdom like I was:
- To package justice for public appeal.
- To legislate virtue faster than it can be formed.
- To swap one power structure for another, slightly kinder one.
But the world does not need more persuaders. It needs lovers, weepers, foot-washers. It needs people whose lives are so poured out in devotion, the room cannot help but smell like heaven.
But the world does not need more persuaders. It needs lovers, weepers, foot-washers.
You cannot shortcut transformation. You must first be undone by Christ—like the woman who broke her alabaster jar Mark 14:3–9. Her act was called wasteful by those who still measured influence in terms of utility. But Jesus said, “She has done a beautiful thing to me.”
4. Reform Must Be Resurrection-Shaped
Let your reform be cruciform. Let it be:
- Slow, like a seed in the ground John 12:24.
- Humble, like a servant’s towel John 13:14.
- Holy, like incense on the altar Revelation 5:8.
This kind of reform cannot be tracked by metrics. It often dies in obscurity. But it lives in eternity.
It often dies in obscurity. But it lives in eternity.
5. I End Where I Began
If I may be bold: Put down your wine list. Pick up your jar.
Do not sell Christ’s Kingdom. Spill your life to reveal it. Let your tears anoint His feet. Let your silence preach the gospel. Let your perfume linger in systems too broken to be reasoned with.
Let your perfume linger in systems too broken to be reasoned with.
The abolition of slavery was not just a victory of laws. It was a testimony to the power of a broken and poured-out life, guided by grace, lit by prayer, and ruled by love.
In Christ’s fragrance,
William Wilberforce
(Servant of the Spirit, Friend of the Poor, Former Wine Broker)
Appendix: A Brief History of William Wilberforce
ChatGPT Prompt
As an Appendix, document the historical arc of Wilberforce‘s career, pivoting around his crisis in the 1790s
A.1 Early Years: Ambition and Ascent (1759–1785)
- 1759 – Born in Hull, Yorkshire, into wealth and privilege.
- 1776–1780 – Attends St John’s College, Cambridge, where he befriends future Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger.
- 1780 – Elected Member of Parliament for Hull at age 21, then for Yorkshire in 1784.
Characterized by:
- Charisma, social brilliance, and political ambition.
- A nominal Anglican, morally loose but culturally respectable.
A.2 Conversion Crisis: The “Great Change” (1785–1787)
- 1785 – Under the influence of travel reading, particularly William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, Wilberforce undergoes a deep evangelical conversion.
- 1786–87 – Experiences intense inner conflict: Should he leave politics to pursue a monastic life of piety?
“God Almighty has set before me two great objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the reformation of manners.”
— Wilberforce’s journal, 1787
- Encouraged by:
- John Newton, former slave trader turned Anglican minister and author of Amazing Grace.
- Pitt the Younger, who urged him to stay in politics as a reformer.
Historical pivot:
- 1787 – Meets the Clapham Sect, a group of devout Anglican social reformers.
- Joins The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, working with Thomas Clarkson.
A.3 The Long Campaign: Brokenness and Tenacity (1789–1807)
- 1789 – Gives his first major speech against the slave trade in the House of Commons.
“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the Trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for Abolition.”
- 1791 – First abolition bill is defeated; mocked and politically outmaneuvered.
- 1790s – Britain is rocked by the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, which make abolitionists look “radical.”
- Wilberforce suffers recurring illness, emotional collapse, and political isolation.
Yet this period also sees:
- The deepening of his spiritual maturity.
- Publication of his bestselling A Practical View of Christianity (1797), arguing for a holistic, Spirit-led discipleship.
Key shift:
- From activist to perfume breaker—his suffering sanctifies his strategy.
- He embodies grace-fueled perseverance, praying daily, fasting weekly, and anchoring in Scripture.
A.4 Victory and Legacy (1807–1833)
- 1807 – Parliament passes the Slave Trade Act, abolishing the transatlantic slave trade in the British Empire.
“Thank God, I have lived to witness [this] day… the Abolition of the Slave Trade.”
- 1810s–1830s – Shifts efforts toward abolishing slavery itself, not just the trade.
- Works with Thomas Buxton and the next generation of reformers.
- 1833 – On his deathbed, receives news that the Slavery Abolition Act has passed in the Commons.
He dies three days later, July 29, 1833. Buried in Westminster Abbey, near Pitt and Newton.
A.5 Summary Timeline (with Links)
- 1785 – Conversion begins spiritual journey.
- 1787 – Joins abolition movement.
- 1797 – A Practical View of Christianity
- 1807 – Slave Trade Act passed.
- 1833 – Slavery Abolition Act passed; Wilberforce dies days later.
A.6 Historical Sources and Further Reading
- Primary:
- Secondary:
Radically Happy 
Leave a comment