As I reflected on my life during my 70th birthday, I soon realized that, like many others, I was "born behind the eight ball," due to poverty, a dysfunctional family, and other circumstances beyond my control. But what does it mean to be "born behind the eight ball?" The phrase commonly refers to being born into a difficult environment marked by poverty, hardship, and negative social perceptions. Some people who are "born behind the eight ball" feel as if they will never escape from the disadvantages associated with the stigma, while others realize that it is possible to escape through salvation in Christ Jesus. Before I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord, my attempts to escape the stigma of being "born behind the eight ball" were focused on self-centered efforts to prove to others that I was greater than that stigma imposed by society. However, after becoming a Christian, I no longer needed to struggle to free myself from this stigma, for I was set free in Jesus Christ.