Freedom from the don'ts...

For awhile I’ve been tweaking my own theology, trying to find out where God fits into it all – rather, where I fit into His plan. And being a byproduct of a rigid denominational church brought its own challenges. This isn’t a knock on any denomination, the church of my childhood least of all. Without the faith of my youth, it’s possible that I would have slipped off into Eternity in a sad and terrible state, never having been exposed to the Light.

I don’t know if it’s possible to completely figure it out or if this is going to be a lifetime of discovery. Doctrine was so much easier when I was 18, a time when I knew it all. The Bible was black and white, no shades of grey, no room for compassion, only rigidness and absolutes. Now, as I approach my 30thI know less yet understand more; once bound to a religion that brought legalism, judgment, condemnation and shame, now freed to a faith that brings liberty and abundant life. birthday,

My own chains of legalism may have been of my own creation, possibly a way to justify my own inadequacies in light of others perceived failures, or my way of coping with a still misunderstood sense of insecurity.

For years I was bound by the list of don’ts, condemned by them, and shamed by my failure to abide by them: don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t have sex, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t be angry – and certainly don’t show it -- don’t speed, don’t wear white after Labor Day, don’t take such big bites. (Okay, some of those aren’t doctrinal, but you get the point – long list of don’ts.)

But there was hope for me. A passage in Matthew brought the dreaded don’ts into perspective:

…an expert in religious law, tried to trap [Jesus] with this question: "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "’You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind’. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

Finally – things to DO rather a list of don’ts! And it became clearer: If one does the do’s, the don’ts aren’t so cumbersome. And even more liberating, the do’s encompass all the don’ts. So, this has become my lens, the view on which I look through when doing things, and the source I use when trying to understand any Scripture.

If I focus on the do’s, I don’t really have to worry about the don’ts. If I do the do’s, I don’t have to worry about lying, because I won’t. If I do the do’s, I won’t steal, or jump in bed with another man’s wife, or cheat my boss out of time, or … well, you get point.

Focus on the do’s, first. Everything else is secondary and will, through practice of the do's, work itself out.

Created over 2 years ago