LIVING EASY vs LIVING FREE

SCRIPTURE:EXODUS 23:2-3

"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.”

OBSERVATION:

Balance and level headedness is so important in the business of helping people and promoting justice.  I have known people whose measure of justice or rightness is the consensus of the crowd they are in.  It is as if they have no internal anchor’s of their own that will stand up to the crowd when it is necessary.

I have also known people who can’t acknowledge the wrong doing of a person without disowning the person himself.  Because they are so strongly motivated by compassion and mercy, they excuse behavior because of the circumstances surrounding it.  Yes there are some circumstances that should acquit a person in spite of their behavior.  I am talking about those who confuse the word “understandable” with “excusable” or actually see them as the same.  Though it might be understandable why or how somebody would come to a conclusion does not make that conclusion right.  If the conclusion is not right, neither will the consequential behaviors.  It is important to understand a person and them help them out of a life of excuses and into a life based on truth - “I messed up. I sinned.  I need forgiveness.  I need help.  I will not do it again.  I learned my lesson.  If I can make it right I will.”

It is a hard job being a people helper because we are not wanting them to simply be able to live with themselves and feel a false sense of justification, we want them to overcome their circumstance - to live in the freedom that truth and righteousness provides, even when it means that we have hard consequences because of it.  I guess it is the difference between living free and living easy - I choose free.

APPLICATION:

Living easy requires that I justify my behavior so I FEEL better, living free requires that I acknowledge my sin/wrong so I can BE better.  Living easy requires that I share my burden with a professional so I can forgive myself, living free requires that I confess my sin to God and people so they can forgive me.  Living easy requires that I work on me so I can live with myself, living free requires that I try and right my wrongs with people so I can live with others in the freedom of a clean conscience.

PRAYER:

Father, you know I have sinned and have need of forgiveness.  I sin on a daily basis by my thoughts, attitude, behaviors.  Help me to never be so soft on myself that I don’t change.  Help me choose to always live free rather than easy.  Thank you for truth and the gift of freedom that accompanies it.  In Jesus name, AMEN!!!