I grew up near a community of folks who were known for what they didn’t do.  They didn’t have cars, electricity, machines, or pretty clothes.  They didn’t drink or smoke.  They didn’t mingle with outsiders.  Every aspect of their lives had to conform to strict rules. The up side was that they were a close-knit community that stuck together and helped each other.  Their simple, healthy lifestyle afforded many benefits.  Their families were stable and the elderly were cared for.  But even if they followed the rules the best they could, they couldn’t be sure that God was pleased enough with them to give them eternal life.

I also have memories of the Beatles’ first wave of popularity.   In my naiveté, I thought Harrison’s song, “My Sweet Lord” had to do with Jesus.  I found out it didn’t.  I’m not blaming the Beatles for the fall of Western Civilization, but they were the “poster children” in my generation for making your own life outside of the constraints of Christendom.  Each decade seemed to pull farther away from Judeo-Christian morality in the name of freedom, individualism, acceptance, non-judgment, and inclusion- principles that seem good until they cause unintended consequences.

Depending on our upbringing, experiences, environment, and personality we all err on one side or the other.  We want to be free or we want to be good.  But both are equally self-centered and useless in making us truly free or truly good. Both leave God out of our daily lives and force us to rely on ourselves instead.

Lie #1
This will make you free.  (And you can influence others to join you.)
Reject God’s truth and make up your own personal ‘truth’. 
Be free of restraints. 
Throw out the God of the Bible and the God of Creation.
Make God what you want him to be.  
You aren’t obligated to even acknowledge a higher, powerful being.  (Of course, you have to ignore the witness of the earth and sky.) 

This lie leads to becoming foolish, confused, and making poor life choices. This false freedom actually leads to enslavement to our base desires which become twisted and unnatural.  We don’t think logically and don’t anticipate the consequences of our immoral behavior.  (See Romans 1)

Lie #2
This will make you good.  (And make you look good to others.)
Bury God’s truth under somebody’s rules.
Be so busy obeying manmade do’s and don’ts that you don’t obey God’s higher principles.
Ignore the bigger issues of relationships with others and God.
Minutia leaves no room for mercy.
Don’t deal with your greed, selfishness, and rebellion.  (See Matthew 23)

This lie leads to becoming hypocrites, appearing to be better than we are.   Sadly, the rules only have to do with the outward:  what not to eat, or drink, or wear, how much to give, when to worship, and rituals.  They don’t help us put our thoughts on Jesus or conquer our evil tendencies.  They lull us into feeling safe and comfortable because we belong to a privileged group, not because we have a sincere relationship with God.  We don’t care about people outside our group because we’re too busy conforming to our own group.

The answer for whichever lie you tend to believe is to hold on to this directive from the Old Testament and repeated by Jesus in the New Testament.   “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Mark 12, Deuteronomy 6). Loving God means we entrust our whole being to him trusting that he will forgive us because his Son took our punishment.  It means that we acknowledge our complete dependence on his grace to live as Jesus did, loving people and hating evil, knowing we’re incapable on our own.

^” We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,  for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.  Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.   So we are made right with God through faith . . .”  Romans 3:22-28

For the freedom lovers this is good news.  No hard and fast rules.  No lists.  No rigidity.  No impressing others.  No trying to be like others.  Just living in the freedom that Jesus gives.  Choosing our path on the basis of God’s high principles for the sake of others.  Living by our conscience enlightened by Scripture instead of do’s and don’ts.

For the goody-two-shoes this is good news. We know what God wants from us.  We don’t have to wonder what to do.  We know how to please him.  He helps us become good from the inside out.  No more pretending, and conforming.  Peace and rest from demands.  Forgiveness for our failures because the Lord Jesus died for us. No more crippling guilt.  A loving relationship with God instead of fearing him.

“Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”  John 6:28-29

 ^“And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.”  Romans 11:6

So what does loving God look like in my life today?  For me, it means taking him into consideration when I make choices.  You know, just everyday choices- the hard ones!  Priorities.  What do I spend my minutes doing?  Who do I need to serve today?  Am I being honest in my relationships?  Is what I’m doing right now of value?  What am I leaving behind for my family after I’m gone?  Am I helping others know God better today?  Am I being a good example to my adult kids and grandchildren?  Am I delighting in the good, the beautiful, the excellent?  Loving God means that I embrace his values wholeheartedly.  He loves justice and mercy and hates oppression (this includes the oppression of drugs and alcohol, the oppression of sexual slavery, and the oppression of public systems that don’t work for the good of the little guy.)   He wants everyone to come to faith in Jesus. He doesn’t want anyone to be separated from him now or in eternity. 

What does loving others look like?  My first responsibility is to the family God gave me;  being available to them, encouraging them, supporting them, listening, and sometimes feeding them (our children are all grown with families of their own).  Caring for friends is important, too.  Cheering their milestones and accomplishments, listening compassionately, giving them my time, helping when they need it, and sometimes feeding them.  Giving what I can to those in need.  In families, there are times when love looks harsh- like telling the hard truth (always gently and kindly), letting consequences teach them without interfering, encouraging accountability, having boundaries, expecting them to take responsibility for their own actions, letting them contribute to the level they’re capable of, requiring growth, but not perfection.

How do you spot one of these lies when it comes at you?  When you’re tempted to do something you know is wrong by God’s standards, you have a choice to make:  you can reject God’s authority to tell you what to do in favor of doing it your way, or you can double down and try harder by doing a prescribed activity;  or you can throw yourself at Jesus’ feet, agree with him that it’s wrong and beg for help to go in another direction.  The first two put the weight on you- you are on your own.  The third choice embraces Almighty God to guide and help you.  I choose guidance and help!