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One of the great desires espoused by people the world over is to be free. Freedom is also one of the high marks of Christ and Christianity. Yet so many people continue to crucify Christ and enslave themselves. One may wonder why or how these things can be—is it because the human mind creates its own truth or embraces short-term pleasures at the price of long-term peace? Our chemistry tricks us, it fluctuates and becomes influenced by our lifestyles. One of the best chain breakers is to indulge in true love, but issues may lie in confusion over the real meaning of freedom and love. Love should have its basis in freedom and giving support to others. Love never seeks to control or oppress, but it also doesn’t ignore.

There is an ease with being drawn into the physical aspects of life, but the spiritual realm requires effort and courage. Mathew 15:19 states: “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander.” All things which enslave us, either by self or by others. Notice, we use the heart to symbolize love but never to symbolize any of these words. Such deceptions mask reality. In Jeremiah 17:9 we see, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” These two passages are stand-alone truths. If you find a need to argue over them, you are perhaps under the influence of one of the things listed in Mathew.

In our attempts to bring others to understand the truth in our faith, we must remain mindful of Mathew’s words. Christianity was never meant to be spread by oppression. Christ made offers and let those who heard him use their freewill to make their decisions. When Christianity looks like a baited trap, all is lost, and the enemy uses this approach to undermine all efforts of good.

“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose”, so the lyrics of Janice Joplin go. How tragic. Such words were spoken by someone self-enslaved by chemical stimulants. Even so, the words bear truth and can be found boldly stated in the Bible when Jesus said to his disciples in Mathew 19:21 “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Now that is a hard sell, but it is one way to prove pure love. Anything less is less.

If you look at Proverbs 21: 26, “He is filled with craving all day long, but the righteous give and don’t hold back.” Surviving in a physical world requires selfish thoughts and actions, this makes the above difficult to grasp, we see trickery and selfish motives in these commands because what we see in others is what we know of ourselves. God doesn’t want us to live in poverty, what he wants is for us to loosen our grip on the physical, to clench the spiritual.

 Keep in mind, this world and all it offers only exist for today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed so view what surrounds you as of little value. To be free, cling to nothing of this earth. Janice and the Bible speak the truth, and as in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Freedom requires courage. Untethered from all your perceptions and experiences, you may have the urge to run back to familiar things. Those who seek to control any aspect of existence will never experience freedom, but when we let go of the controls an inner spirit takes over. That can be a frightful concept. Human nature clings to stuff, it helps with terrestrial balance.

 Freedom can be likened to standing on water in a raging storm, clinging to nothing but faith. Even though letting go of faith will drown you, the urge overcomes you and you sink beneath the waves.

We have free will, we make choices. And many of them are counter-intuitive to our best interest. Yet we continue to make our bad choices, then double down to defend and justify them.

So where do we put our freedom to work and what results can we expect? What if someone close to you says, “You are the last person in the world I would ever want to work with”? Two years later, they need help, and you chip in.

Or what if you buy an expensive piece of equipment and you need help to pay for it? So, you offer to do work for someone in a close relationship and instead they hire a stranger? A year later they asked to borrow the equipment. You lend it to them.

You find out your partner has been lying to you for years and unrepentantly cheating. Instead of destroying all you worked for, you help them establish a new independent life.

 What if you generously overpay someone to do work for you, mostly so you can get to see them? As a gift, they hand you a book with the premise “Don’t Expect Those You do Favors For to Owe You”. In this case, it only means they have no idea wherein lies your heart and who you are.

Freedom can be painful, challenging, and on the surface appears to be without reward. The liberty to float above the mess refreshes and frees one from the bondage of revenge and grudges. Don’t expect your actions to change others. But watch for signs and pray for understanding.

In the end, God gives us a get out jail free card. Strive to love no matter the circumstance. Love is not the easy road, it’s the best road.  Romans 5:8 tells us “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Sacrifice your needs and wants in honor of Jesus Christ. Vengeance begets more pain and suffering. Free yourself.

In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis said, “Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become, even in the natural loves, more careful of our own happiness. If a man is not uncalculating towards the earthly beloveds whom he has seen, he is none the more likely to be so towards God whom he has not. We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it.”

In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.”