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Reflections

What it Means to be Free

On July Fourth we celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence that delineates our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now we are reflecting on those rights, and what freedom means. Government, we observed, provides only civil liberty; it does not deal with freedom from sin or our own selfish nature. For freedom from these, we look to Christ alone.

Freedom from Self

Sitting across from me in a restaurant was a little girl loudly demanding her parents’ attention. They could not converse because she wanted to be the center of everything. “She needs to grow up,” I thought.

Immediately the Spirit pricked my conscience. I felt I was looking in a mirror, seeing an ugly reflection of my own inner nature demanding attention in more subtle ways. I needed maturing also.

Jesus knew our human nature that wants to be “firstest with the mostest” so He said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24, NIV). This self-denial Jesus talked about is not self-negation, but deliverance from the self-life that would control us. To understand this further, we need to talk about human nature.

Countless books have been written on the infinitely complicated human personality. However, one book a salesperson left with us presented a simplified approach that helped me understand myself and other people. “To make a sale,” the book said, “know what motivates a person.” Then the writer listed three strong motivators: recognition, romance and reward.

“If you are selling a dress to a woman motivated by recognition,” the writer said, “tell her it’s the latest style. If that doesn’t work, she may be motivated by romance, so tell her she looks beautiful in it and she’ll buy.” If the sale still is not complete, the writer said to appeal to the motivation for reward—tell her the dress is a good deal at that price.

I found this interesting, but didn’t give it more thought until later as I read a C.S. Lewis essay. Lewis listed three similar motivations in more sophisticated terms: the need to be “in” (esoteric motivation), the need for love (erotic motivation), and the need for money (economic motivation).

Then I read the Apostle John’s summary of human nature: “For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16, NIV). John was alluding to the same three categories of human nature as the sales book and C.S. Lewis. So I searched the Scriptures further to see if these motivations were what Jesus was teaching us to deny. And if so, what motivation should replace them?

Jesus taught us what to do about our natural motivations. For those strongly motivated by economic gain, Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, NIV).

For those needing recognition, Jesus taught that it does not come through self-exaltation but through humility: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12, NIV).

For the pleasure seekers, Jesus promised joy in this life and in the life to come: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11, KJV). Our joy will be complete when we hear His words “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master's happiness!” (Matthew 25:23, NIV).

The Apostle Paul made clear what the life motivation of the believer should be: “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live   for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:14,15, NIV). Christ’s love becomes our driving force. We now live for Him, not ourselves.

Sounds good, but can we actually live that way? we might ask. Jesus does not ask us to do anything we are incapable of doing—He enables us through the Holy Spirit. Putting God’s love in our hearts is one of the purposes of the Spirit’s coming: “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5, NIV).

What does it mean to be free? We who know the freedom Christ gives from sin can also know the freedom He gives from our own selfish nature. By His Spirit who empowers us, we can live in His love.

Points to Ponder:

In the terms of the sales book, what is the strongest natural motivation of my life? Have I surrendered that motivation, and all others, to the love of Christ?

PEGGY MUSGROVE is a licensed Assemblies of God minister. She is also a speaker, freelance writer, author and prayer group leader. Her latest book, Musings of a Maraschino Cherry was released in 2004.. You can visit her at www.musgroveville.com.

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