A Matter of Faith...

By Carol Round

ARE WE REALLY FREE?
“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV)

I was comparing the nutritional values on the back of different cereal boxes recently when an older gentleman said, “I can’t believe how many different cereals there are today. It’s hard to decide which one to buy when there are so many choices.”

I had to agree with him. But it’s not just cereal. Stroll down the bread aisle and you won’t just find white and wheat anymore. Let’s see, there’s whole wheat, multi-grain, whole grain, honey wheat—now there’s even whole grain white—or something like that. It’s confusing.

Each day we are faced with choices. Some choices are insignificant while others determine our future. If we choose to eat a doughnut instead of a healthy bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, it may seem unimportant at that moment. Continue to make that choice every day and you’ll soon be wearing those doughnuts on your hips and thighs and your cholesterol will be off the charts.

Freedom is the capacity to exercise choice but if we are not careful, we can become slaves to our desires, slaves to bitterness, slaves to hatred and slaves to our pride. Any choice that keeps us from being the person that God created us to be keeps us in bondage.

For many years, I was a slave to other people’s opinions of me. I became a people pleaser instead of doing those things that I knew pleased God. I could not become the person He wanted me to be because I wasn’t seeking His guidance. Instead, I was seeking the approval of man.

God empowers us to make the right choices but fear of rejection or of others’ disapproval often leads us to compromise what we believe or what we know in our hearts is right.

Being bombarded daily by media messages that tell us we must look and act a certain way does not help. We get a distorted image of ourselves because we think we don’t measure up and we become slaves to society’s definition of freedom. True freedom is realizing that a daily walk with the Lord is all we need to break the chains of oppression.

Recently, I was reading a devotional by noted pastor and author, Charles Stanley, whose article posed the question, “Are you free?” In America we would say, “Yes,” based on the fact that we can go almost anywhere we choose and do what we like without anyone interfering.

Man’s definition of freedom and God’s definition, however, are not the same. While the constitution grants us many rights as citizens of the United States, true freedom is won within the boundaries of God’s word.

Scripture reveals to us how to release those chains that hold us hostage. If we allow our human natures to be in control, then we are stepping outside the boundaries and we are not free.

Will you choose the path that leads to true freedom? Choose God.