I have a very simple view of life. I may decorate it to make it look attractive, but in the end, it’s quite simple. We are created to understand two things: our liberty and obedience. The first has to do with what we want, and the second, what/whom we trust. It’s an elementary view of life, and I gladly stole it from the sweetest of my rotund literary companions, G.K. Chesterton.
But let me develop these just a bit if you don’t mind. If a man wishes to prostitute himself with an eclectic assortment of fantasies and addictions, he can have at it. Most of these are available in a screen near you. The abundance of toys is so great that Jeff Bezos seems perplexed by it. Your view of liberties is determined by the things you want. If you want everything, including that other thing that the 10th commandment prohibits, you want limited liberty. Again, have at it. Many have tried, and from what I understand from archeologists, you can still smell their carcasses in the desert at certain times during the scorching heat.
However, if you want life abundant; the life that drips down your beard like oil, then you need a view of liberty that binds you to certain norms. The Pharisees our Lord chastised wanted a theology of liberty that stifled, and they gladly wore their “Make Hypocrisy Great Again” paraphernalia in the streets for everyone to see. They were dying inside, and Jesus just exposed their rotting soul to the masses. It wasn’t hard, especially when He was the one who knew them from the womb.
For some people, their liberty philosophy is plain to see. Just take a look at their Instagram page and you can tell that they are a busy idol factory. But for others, it’s more subtle. They build their careers on lies and half-truths, developing a vocabulary suitable for the Wall Street mercenary. I think Jordan Peterson’s “Rule Eight” touches on this (Tell the Truth, or At Least Don’t Lie). They masquerade their true intent with lies, and they build a reputation of liberty-lovers, but really their understanding is shallow. They are the ones navigating the self-help magazines at Books-A-Million seeking whom they may devour.
But the young lady who lays out to her pastor a picture of a husband she is after is seeking a good thing. She is limiting her liberty in the right way. She wants the good, even though she may have to moderate her list a bit. Her understanding of liberty is one that will give her maximum prosperity within her context.
Now, the second thing you must grasp is obedience. Remember that little Sunday School song, “O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E is the very best way to show that you believe.” That kind of talk will get you killed in any evening in D.C. or Portland. What was common Christian talk is now a challenging proposition in a post-5th-commandment world! But, pardon my Hebrew, “to hell with the obedience nay-sayers!” They don’t want the good of culture or the good of the city. They want the dismemberment of babies and society at large.
Your regard for obedience says a lot more about your worldview than your philosophy degree. Give me five minutes with a young man, and I can tell you more about his view of life than his resume attests. Your understanding of obedience is determinative of whom you trust. The way some trust in horses and chariots is by scoffing at godly authority and chasing after the cool kids with the fancy cars.
I told a group of young men this morning to watch for the flatterers. They praise you incessantly because they want your attention and your obedience…to their demands. But obedience is a matter of heart orientation. We need to look at the flatterer right in the eye, or at least via text, and say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” After all, we obey what/whom we worship, and we become like what/whom we obey. As I said, I have a very simple view of life.
