When we lose or damage our dignity by philosophy, someone, something or by
ourselves we can feel deeply humiliated. Several humiliated and oppressed
people groups have developed from centuries of human slavery to the Taliban and
have left their undeniable marks on our world.
"It means you are free."
She said, “Does that mean that I
can say whatever I want to say?"
Lincoln said, "Yes, my dear,
you can say whatever you want to say."
"Does that mean," She
said, "That I can be whatever I want to be?"
Lincoln said, "Yes, you can be
whatever you want to be."
"Does that mean I can go
wherever I want to go?"
He said, "Yes, you can go
wherever you want to go."
With tears streaming down her face,
she said, "Then I will go with you."
Like this young lady we are
given a choice to be free. God want s us to be free.
Like the Hebrews we don’t want to
go back to Egypt do we? Like the freed lion we
don’t want to be reintroduced to the cage. We want to stay free. Free from the
things that kept us enslaved and stuck.
You regain or retain your freedom
and dignity by making two choices
Firstly, run when you need to!
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. 2 Timothy 2:22
Firstly, run when you need to!
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. 2 Timothy 2:22
Nobody is exempt from going
backwards,we all have weaknesses, character defects and blind spots. Whether
it’s a person, place or thing that will take you to places you will regret
later you need to leave. Don’t go there. Don’t rationalize or justify, just
flee.
Secondly, allow God to change
your heart
The story of our lives involves our
hearts. True lasting change is a work of the heart not merely an outward
appearance. As Solomon said, “The heart is the well spring of life.” So
much of who we are originates from our hearts, whether it’s our dreams,
passion, disappointment, genuineness, love or fulfillment.
When we are deeply hurt by
betrayal, abuse or deep neglect our hearts become calloused, hard, stunted,
resentful and defensive. Sadly, over time our hearts begin to close. As a
result we can unintentionally disengage our hearts by medicating ourselves with
empty trivial pursuits.
This elusive pursuit produces a
kind of numbness in our hearts and we unknowingly miss out on God’s best for us.
We wonder where did the joy go and we become hindered to see ourselves
and others realistically. As the blind Helen Keller said, “It is better
to see with you heart than to have two eyes and see nothing.”
Join us next time for the other two life giving choices...