You Can't Take People Where They Don't Want To Go

On this blog, I talk a lot about letting go of religious rituals and embracing true freedom found only in the person of Jesus. In the process of finding freedom, I want to challenge you with a thought I’ve been wrestling with recently…

You can’t take people where they don’t want to go.

Some individuals don’t want freedom or think they already have it and that’s okay!! I’ve noticed that religious rituals and activity still works for some people. At least it works because they like it or are comfortable with it. It’s safe…it’s all they’ve ever known. In fact, to accept something different or opposite of what they’ve always known feels blasphemous, wrong, or disloyal…at least to those well meaning teachers who have taught them everything they know about God, the Bible, and how Christians should ‘behave’. So when you challenge a view, quote your studies, or probe with questions that helped you on your own journey, they aren’t excited. Why? Because you’re challenging someones comfort and security.

So the challenge? If your adventure with Jesus fills you with pride over how your new found freedom has made you smarter in comparison to the religious activity of others, you haven’t really found freedom. You’ve replaced religious duties with arrogance as your new experience of freedom makes you feel important or better than. Or as Paul said to the church in Corinth, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” If you aren’t more gracious, loving, or kind, it’s not freedom you’ve found. If you’re not more compassionate, understanding, and patient with people, you haven’t grown at all...