"I have the right to do anything,” you say – but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything” – but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV
They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 2 Peter 2:19 ESV
Graduating seniors from high school, young people becoming 18 years old frequently have a heady experience. They receive letters in the mail from various companies, enthusiastically telling them they are now adults, eligible for credit cards, implying they have “great credit.” They won’t need a parent’s permission or signature to obtain it.
Now, that’s a big statement. They DON’T have great credit. They don’t have ANY credit. But it feels good, sounds good, and is there anything more adult than having a powerful piece of plastic in your purse or pocket that will pay for something you want right now? The problem is that young people have often been given a powerful tool that they have neither the wisdom nor maturity to manage. Approximately 111 million Americans – about 40% of the U.S. adult population – carry credit-card debt month-to-month that they are unable to pay off in full. Of this group, millions are considered severely "debt-stressed" or overwhelmed by their inability to keep up with compounding interest and basic living expenses. An extremely high percentage of these people began their debt bondage in just this way. They slowly became overcome by their freedom. As Peter said so many years ago, whatever overcomes a person enslaves them.
We have all seen it and personally experienced it in one way or another. That thing we did “just one time” gained destructive control over our lives. That one really great habit we ignored for just a couple of days because it was inconvenient made the summer end with us extremely far away from our goals. It “feels” so free to be our own authority and respond to no one’s wisdom but our own. But the wisest among us are aware that just as becoming eighteen years old does not automatically bestow the wisdom and maturity to operate well free from any outside authority, there is no age or experience we will ever attain that exempts us from the need for a wiser, more powerful voice in our lives. For us who claim to follow Jesus, that voice is the Holy Spirit. He is our guide and help who will keep us walking in freedom, never enslaved. We are blessed and free to walk in that security.
- Father, help me always remember that freedom is a wonderful gift, but one I have neither the wisdom nor maturity to manage on my own. Help me willingly walk in Your authority, leading me to the truest freedom I can ever experience.