I am not speaking of those believers in China or North Korea or some Islamic stronghold. Those physically oppressed by ruthless dictators seldom have a choice as to where they are. Yet, many still choose to serve the Lord, even at the expense of their own lives. In the midst of great persecution they know the Lord's freedom. The greater tragedy, to me, is for those who live in the land of the free but choose self imposed oppression. They deny the power of God and live in emotional and spiritual servitude to masters of their own choosing. Their liberty is slowly chewed away as they serve other gods instead of Yahweh.
Their chosen bondage is that of an emotional reaction to those they have chosen to serve. They either do not see it or, in many cases, willingly choose to live under oppression. It may be a lack of understanding, however, it is often pride that holds them there. Sometimes for a moment or two, sometimes for a lifetime. For example, you are driving to work and some moron cuts you off. You choose to react with a touch of your horn. They choose to make an unwelcome gesture to you. You choose to be more irritated, perhaps a little angry. You get to work and someone notices your foul mood and asks why it is so. You explain, "This idiot cut me off, I chose to get irritated, then I chose to dwell on the incident all the way to work. I chose to relive it in my mind several times. I chose to think poorly of the other driver. I then chose to let it ruin the rest of my drive and chose to let them hold me captive with this crummy attitude I now choose to hold. And because of this I now choose to make your day a little worse and perhaps prompt you to choose to think of times of irritation of your own so we both can choose to be held captive by things we could choose to ignore or simply let go. I choose to let bits of my life be chewed away by empowering others to ruin my day." I have chosen to serve other gods, how wise is that?
I have listened and counseled folks for a lot of years and one of the saddest things to hear is, "They make me angry, they frustrate me, or they disappoint me." All these statements are how we feel. but they are also choices we make to empower others to take away our freedom and serve them. We choose to get angry even though Proverbs 15:1 says, "A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." So we could have chosen to use soft words but we chose to be angry. Choosing to hold on to disappointment and frustration leads to bitterness even though Hebrews 12:25 tells us, "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." We choose the root of bitterness and we are defiled and yes, we invite others to partake in our bitterness and disappointment and thus defile many. Being wounded and betrayed is a reality that we all will face. What we choose to do with it is up to us. In Ephesians 4:32, God tells us, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." We say we forgive but we choose to cling to the offense and see our spouse through a grid of distrust so they will never do enough, say enough, repent enough, grovel enough for us to let it go and accept them. We choose to not be kind or tenderhearted, we honestly have chosen not to forgive. In all these instances we have made the choice to let others control us. To let others rule or emotional and spiritual well being. The world proclaims that we have rights. We have a right to hold an offense, we have a right to be angry, we have a right to punish another or remind them of their short comings. To make a list of their continued offenses. So we relive the past over and over again. In so doing we deny the power of God. We have chosen to let them be god in place of Yahweh.
When an offense is held onto it is soon a matter of pride. We were unjustly treated or wounded and so was our pride. So we cannot move on. The world applauds and extols our determination to make the other pay for their transgression. However we need to remember, "God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble." So says 1 Peter 5:5 and James 4:6 among others. Pride silently, sometimes unknowingly, chews away at our souls as we cling to an offense, we are just too proud to admit it. And if Peter and James are correct God now resists you. Good luck with that. Not your best choice. For every offense, disappointment, betrayal, irritation, and unkind word there is a scripture that tells us how to respond rather than react. There is a choice to be made. We can either choose to respond in agreement with the Word of God or let the chewing begin to damage our soul. Why would anyone what to seed power to another to control them spiritually and emotionally, to choose to let them become our master? It really is your choice.
"But, you do not understand the depth of the hurt, the cutting wounds of betrayal, the harshness of the words." Perhaps not, though I have had my share. However, I do know two things. I have observed what happens to those who choose to allow their reactions to others to chew away their lives. And I do know this is not to be so. We have to choose another god to live that way. For the God of Joshua, "has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). This God sets us free and empowers us to think and respond in a way that releases us, if we choose to accept it. The God of Joshua is the Spirit who lives in us and produces fruit through us. Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." We have the Spirit of God to respond with His Fruit. If the fruit of God's Spirit is missing in how we respond to what others say and do then what god are we choosing to serve? If these aspects of the Spirit's Fruit are absent in your life it is not His fault. They are there waiting to blossom, could it be choosing to hold on to some offense has shriveled the Spirit's fruit?
Now, don't misunderstand, I am not saying we stay in dangerous situations. David shows us that you can forgive and continue to love and honor someone, while removing yourself from danger. That is his example with Saul. David chose to continue to love and honor Saul while removing himself from Saul's determination to kill him. However, David never chose to let anger, disappointment, betrayal, irritation or anything else control him. No, he chose to allow the Spirit of God to handle it. He chose to let the Spirit's fruit rule rather than his own emotion or pride.
Every day we have choices to make. Every relationship, be it marriage, children, friends, other drivers, co-workers, bosses, or the officer who asks to see your license, is an opportunity to choose who you will serve. To choose to have your life chewed away or to choose the freedom God has provided. The choice is yours. His power is available to you, actually resting in you by His Spirit. Joshua's option is still on the table. "Choose this day whom you will serve". Who will you choose?
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