Slaves

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."

Freedom is one of the things that we hold very dear in the United States.  Our country was founded on the notion of freedom and independence from those who would seek to control or dictate our way of life.  This ideal is hardwired into the psyche of Americans from the time they are born.  Our school system glorifies the American revolutionaries in history classes, and tells every child they can do whatever they set their mind to.  The ideal of freedom is one of the things that has made this country great.  It helped bring it from being the petulant child throwing the Boston Tea Party fit in front of Mother England to the world's premier superpower, and we enjoy a level of luxury in this country that would send people of other nations into sensory overload.

The problem with this individualistic idea of complete freedom is that the people of this country have given credit to it for making the United States great while forgetting who really guides the path of any person or nation.

The freedom to do as we please is not what made this country great.  In fact, that idea is starting to tear this country apart.  I have been in the school system for years, first as a student and later as a teacher.  It is troubling to see the students more concerned with what they feel they are entitled to because of their freedoms (respect when they give none, trust when they abuse it, a pass to the next grade when they do not earn it) than actually taking advantage of a free education system and submitted to basic rules of decent behavior.  This behavior can be seen in adults who feel they can do whatever they want without consequences.  Men and women sleep with stranger after stranger are surprised to learn they contracted a fatal STD they most likely already passed on.  Bar patrons drink until they cannot walk, and then attempt to drive home killing a single mother who is driving to her job because her former husband decided he no longer wanted the responsibility of being a dad.  I could go into many more issues, but I am sure you can think of them on your own.  The truth is that as much as we like freedom, we are all slaves, and we will always be slaves, "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:15-18).

You will either be a slave to your own desires only to perish, or you will be a slave to righteousness through Jesus and live forever.  This is one of the biggest reasons people do not want to accept Jesus as Lord.  They are rebels who would rather be led around by their own desires and fall than submit to Jesus and reap eternal joy.  Remember this when you share Jesus with others.

When we plan our lives on our own, we are going to make mistakes.  There will be things that seem so right that go completely bust, and we will not understand why.  Learn to submit all things to God, not most things, all things.  God is not satisfied with most of you.  He requires all of you.  When you commit all that you do to Him, He will straighten your path out in front of you.