Jacob Ninan
These are lifestyles, people believe, that will bring them maximum happiness. They imagine there cannot be anything better than having the freedom to do whatever one feels like without anyone restricting them or telling them to do something else! For them, rules and commandments are seen as hindrances to experiencing freedom. Recognition of anyone having authority over them is unthinkable! Personal 'rights' have been over-emphasised so much that everyone feels free to even define his own standards of morality. For example, people claim to have the right to define their gender as fluid (as a variable depending on what they choose to label themselves with from time to time). In fact, this kind of thinking has pervaded man's thinking so much these days that anyone questioning it will be seen as 'ancient', regressive (as opposed to being progressive), spoil-sports, legalistic, etc. We can say this is one of the main characteristics of the 'spirit of the times'.
Frank Sinatra sang a song called 'My way' that became famous very quickly. It is about a man taking pride, near the end of his life, in the fact that he had lived his life his way. How thousands of people found themselves relating to this song and how it became one of the most requested songs to be played at funerals, all point to the reality of how this seeking after independence has influenced a large number of people.
"I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isa.14:13,14), thought Lucifer, the chief of the angels at one time. On the other hand, what God thought of Lucifer was, "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendour" (Ezek.28:17). Lucifer imagined that because he was greater in wisdom and beauty than all other angels, he was sufficient in himself to manage everything by himself. He didn't need God, he thought. He could not understand why he had to submit to God when he was, as he thought, 'like the Most High' himself! Freedom from having to be 'under' God and independence to do what he wanted would be the ultimate happiness, thought Lucifer, and that was what cast him out of heaven, from the presence of God, and that was what changed an archangel to Satan.
His contemplation of his own prowess in comparison to his fellow angels turned Lucifer blind to the fact that he was still only a created being with very finite abilities compared to the infinite God who had created him! How could he imagine that he could be 'like the Most High'?
We don't know if Satan ever realised the mistake he had made with his exaggerated view about himself. But one thing we see is that he turned to the people God had created in order to convince them that they could 'become like God' (Gen.3:5). If they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would have this knowledge within themselves and would no longer need to be dependent on God!
Eve probably did not recognise the implications of what Satan was telling her. She thought it would be a good thing to become like God (v.6). But the day Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit, they died, just as God had warned them (2:17) – they got severed from their life with God. They did become independent of God, but not in the way Satan had implied. They actually became without God. Their independence made them lose all that God had meant to them earlier and all that He had provided for them. Their so-called independence that they thought would make them happy made them instead miserable with shame, fear, distrust, etc.
And even now people are looking for independence – from God and people. People look for their moksha in realising their 'self' – with no concept of submitting oneself to God! Many young people try to break out from having to listen to anybody else, some of them showing it in an attitude that has been described as 'anti-establishment'! Nowadays, people call it euphemistically by different names – finding their identity, having their own space, etc. But even though there are legitimate uses for these phrases, many are actually looking for being able to have their own way. They do not like anyone to tell them what to do and not. Just look at how the 'spirit of the times' is promoting this concept of freedom through all the media.
This idea of independence does not consider the fact that none of us is self-sufficient; we all need God and also others. We don't know it all, and we don't have the ability to do whatever we wish. If we could realise how small we really are, we would consider it a great mercy that there is God who wants to take care of us and others who can help us with many things. We will also realise that God has placed people in authority over us with the purpose of taking responsibility for us.
Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt.16:25). To paraphrase it, Jesus is saying, "If you live your whole life for yourself, going your own way and doing your own thing, instead of choosing Me and My ways, You will finally lose it all!" As an illustration, Jesus gave the parable of the rich man whose single goal in life was to accumulate wealth and enjoy life (Lk.12:16-19). This man did not realise that all of it could be lost just in a day. He was not rich towards God (v.21)!
A Christian who has not understood this truth will miss much in every way – 'lose his life'. If we want to walk with Jesus, we will have to determine that we are going to deny ourselves in order to do the will of God for our life and walk every day with our own natural ambitions, pleasures, fame, possessions, etc., placed on the cross (Lk.9:23). Jesus says it in a plain and hard-hitting way to show that otherwise there is no way we can be His disciples.
God has created us in such a way that we are completely dependent on Him for even our next breath and He has also provided others on whom we can be inter-dependent. Those who pursue after independence throw away all these provisions from God and will ultimately find their own emptiness.
Do we imagine that providing our 'services' to God can suffice? Jesus talks about 'many' who prophesied, cast out demons and did many other miracles in His name whom He did not acknowledge (Matt.7:22,23) because He wasn't looking for service or even sacrifices, but for those who would value Him more than all else (Lk.14:26). Many 'servants of God' enjoy the boost to their ego when people seek them and make them feel great and important, even when they are 'sacrificing' their time with their families in the bargain. They imagine that 'serving God' and being occupied with the 'things of God' give them the right to excuse the neglect of their families. How can we neglect one part of the responsibility God has given us and feel condoned because we enjoy being involved with 'leadership' activities? I have made this mistake myself, but I am writing this now having learned that it was a mistake.
Our fulfilment comes from being subject to God and accomplishing His will. Doing our own thing actually leads us into more bondage in the end because what we have in us is a sinful nature that will only produce 'death'. Wisdom is to recognise the truth of what appears to be a paradox – freedom that comes from obeying God. We cannot do any better than what He has for us as our Creator, Saviour and Father. We will see that subjecting ourselves to God and the arrangements He has made for our life on earth is what will give us the greatest satisfaction, and not making a name for ourselves, accumulating wealth, or leaving monuments after us. And one of our life's ongoing tasks is to find out what He wants us to do, in detail, from His word and by becoming sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Are we trying to do things for God or are we trying to do what He wants us to do? Do we pray for God's blessings on the schemes we have thought up, or, as Jesus taught us, submit to God, yield ourselves to Him and pray, "O Lord, please help me to be just what You want me to be and do what You want me to do"? Then we can begin to experience the real freedom and liberty in Christ (Php.3:8), and not apart from Him.
-- Editorial in the Light of Life magazine, November 2019
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