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"... but we make progress by some daily denials of our freedom."

 

A thought by Lisa Whittle from her book, Jesus Over Everything (p. 79). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Now this may not be for everyone, but it should be!


Lisa says, "It’s not unlike the 'I can eat this because it’s available to me, but should I?' principle. Most of us wouldn’t consider eating doughnuts for every meal. We could; we are free to. It is not illegal. We may have the money, and no one is telling us no. But is it good for our bodies? Is it best for us in all ways—will our brains function well, and will we have the most energy? Of course the answer is no, and we are mature enough to be able to tell ourselves no, to do what’s best for the bodies we care enough about to withhold something from them. (We also operate with common sense, which more of us could greatly benefit from in other areas of life instead of trying to justify them with our intellectual arguments.)"

She goes on, "Denial of freedom, in cases where flesh would win over spirit, is caring enough about the soul and about Jesus that we deny things that won’t benefit our relationships with Him even though our freedom may allow for them. Soon we won’t want things that don’t digest into greater holiness. Our taste for them will diminish and possibly go away.

"Holiness is ultimately not about vices—whether or not to drink or even to watch porn or cheat on your taxes, though everyday behaviors certainly move us closer or farther away from those actions. Holiness is about not contaminating the purity of our relationship with the Lord. Culture is constantly trying to get us to heighten our life experiences or at least find ways to make them more bearable. If you don’t believe me, look around at all our thrill-seeking options. Marketers aren’t stupid. They know we demand (and feel we need) more and more highs to keep us stimulated. Daily survival for us in modern times increasingly requires denial of real life. Yet Jesus does not need additions. His real life is good enough. We constantly feel like something is missing in our relationship with Jesus, and I propose that something is not at all a thing but an us. We are missing. We are over somewhere else, trying to get high off some other thrill to keep us going in life. God is in the same place He’s always been, waiting on us to come back and settle down to get some heart work done."

She later says, "Consider your holiness-versus-freedom issue(s), even now. If you know somewhere deep down inside that something is coming between you and God, in any season, do you pursue getting rid of it, or do you justify keeping it for as long as possible? Be honest. And sit with the answer for a bit."

And that is what we need to be, to be honest, isn't it?

Yes, yes!


 

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