Self-Indulgence And Its Downside
I rediscovered something this week, along with 35 students and leaders on a home missions trip to Wheelwright Ky.; the human heart is where real freedom flows from. Freedom is not doing whatever we want when we want; it’s more about being true to who we are and who we were created to be.
Above all…you are called to be free; do not use your freedom for an openness to self-indulgence, but be servants to one another in love… [Galatians 5]
Real freedom [the kind that Christ invites us to] recognizes that self-indulgence has many limits and leads us to only being more enslaved by it; we eventually become slaves to our own needs and wants. But love, compassion, and giving ourselves more totally and freely to others leads us to a greater kind of freedom.
To be free is to put justice, truth, and service to others over and above our own need for recognition, power, personal gain, and success.
One Final Thought: the main teacher on the road to freedom is Jesus.
I am fascinated and attracted by His total freedom, which He insists is the way we all are created to live everyday. I think I really believe Him and want to follow!
So very true George. Thanks for this awesome reminder.
Thanks George! I needed this today!
Thanks, George.
Wheelwright is a very special place and the smallest of things there can mean the world.
My first trip last year was around Easter and it rained through the entire weekend, on the way up, during and on the way back. Long story…
I remember standing in the rain on a hill in front of a home on which we were working and having tears run down my face. I was thinking about how much I complain about what I don’t have and never stop to think about what I do have.
I’ll bet I walked that hill for 45 minutes trying to find enough signal to call my wife and tell her,”Hun, I have NOTHING on this earth to complain about. We are rich beyond measure. Please remember that.”
That place is a TRUE opportunity to show the love of Christ, get to know real people who honestly scrape by day after day amd a chance to be who we were made to be: We can be Love, Hope, Kindness, Patience… We can be Joy to those who have none.
George, keep those teens going there. I have a feeling they may be the ones keeping you going up, however. We have some great young men and women with hearts of gold. Seen them in action there.
Blessings
Excellent point, George. I love exploring different meanings of the word freedom! Getting out of our comfort zone and into God’s will of love and serving is the best freedom of all. Needed this reminder!