Bondage to Self

A. Jas. 3:14-16. As our lives unfold, we will either enjoy the freedom of seeking God or suffer from the consequences of seeking ourselves. There is no in-between. We will either long to please our Creator or demand to please ourselves. And if we choose to make "self" our primary concern, the longer we live that fantasy it more it will bind us and enslave us. We are never less free than when we declare our independence from God. James tells us that "self-seeking" is a hellish thing. It engenders strife, and the "wisdom" that recommends this choice "does not come from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic." Satan's murderous lie has always been that we can do whatever we want, regardless of anything God may have said, and no harmful consequences will come. In fact, he insinuates that seeking our own will is the only way we can be free just as he did with Adam and Eve, Gen. 3:1-6.
1. And while Satan cheering us on, he is preparing the chains that will bind us. But all to late do we realize how little freedom there is in our self-centered, self-serving demands. The more we sink in self’s cravings the more our choices begin to feel like compulsions, and the less hope we have of ever knowing freedom again. If we any degree of honesty, self respect the time will come when we will hear from our own lips, the desperate cry of Paul in Rom. 7:24, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"
2. The desire to be free from self-will should be one of our most powerful motivations for seeking God. But to be free, we must be honest about the what and why of our of our motivation. Make sure our seeking is not about what we want, But, about what He wants.
3. Acts 20:32.

Spur - 10/05/03 pm