Joy in the Toil

In the United States, we often think of freedom as meaning being able to do whatever makes us happy. To pursue our desires without limitations imposed by others. There are obviously limits to this, primarily as long as what you’re doing doesn’t cause someone else harm. However, being able to do what every you want is not true freedom.

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

– 1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV

Paul in talking to the Corinthians is quoting something that the Corinthians were known for saying. This expression, “All things are lawful for me” is referencing to the idea that the grace afforded to us through Christ gives us the luxury to do whatever we want. Paul is challenging this in two different ways. The first is by pointing out that just because one has the freedom to do anything does not mean that everything we do is to our benefit. When we become adults, free from our parents rule we could choose to never brush our teeth and eat candy whenever we want, but we would suffer the consequences of these choices and probably end up with no teeth. There are many things that we could do that we ought not to do because we would suffer harm in making that choice.

The second way that Paul challenges this way of thinking is by referencing to the nature of our desires if we do not master them. When we do whatever we want whenever we want, we become slaves to our desires. That’s the thing about our desires. When given free reign, they will take control of your life and demand far more than they give in return. Freedom without restrain turns into addiction very quickly. The enemy would love for us to cast off restrain in the name of freedom, because when we do so, we set ourselves up to become slaves to sin.

The path to true freedom is through boundaries and restraint. God put rules in place for our own good. Within the boundaries that God has put in place for us, we have the freedom to enjoy so many good things that God has given us. We must constantly fight against our flesh and our desires that fall outside of the boundaries that God has put in place for us, and the good news is that even when we cross those boundaries, there is grace. A mistake that is very easy to make is to believe that grace gives us license to sin. It is very easy to think that it doesn’t matter if we sin, because all that we have to do is ask for forgiveness. The problem with this view, which Paul is pointing out, is that this does not account for the consequences of sin and the nature of sin. While the eternal consequences of our sin may be covered by grace in a sense, we still suffer from the natural consequences of sin and can become captive to sin when we continually engage in it.

We are very fortunate to live in a country that affords us certain freedoms. Namely, the freedom of religion. We have the freedom to pursue relationship with God without fear of punishment by our government. Our country also affords us the freedom to do things that fall outside of the way that God has called us to live as followers of Christ. We must choose to set aside certain “freedoms” in the name of true freedom. We may not be able to fulfill every desire or indulge in every craving, but we will find ourselves living more fully and reap the rewards of restraint in the long term.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash