The Paceline

Independence!       For centuries, both battle cries have echoed for relief from tyranny and slavery.

Funny thing – or sad thing depending upon your perspective – we’re all slaves. The question is, according to Paul David Tripp, to whom or to what?

In his book, New Morning Mercies, Tripp continues his provocative questions and ends with a contention that once stuck in my craw: 

“Everyone is willing to make sacrifices; the question is, to whom or for what?

We all follow sets of rules; the question is, whose and for what?

We all give our hearts to something; the question is, to whom or to what?

We were never hardwired to be free, if by “freedom” we mean an independent, self-sufficient life.”

I hate the idea of slavery, but never hardwired to be free?? For decades I’ve been proud of my independence and self sufficiency.

And therein lies the problem. Not just the unattractiveness of pride, but the idea that I can solve every problem; that I can selectively choose when, if, and for whom I’ll make sacrifices, follow rules, or give my heart – my all.

Peace and joy were elusive at best for most of my early years. Had Twitter been a thing back then, #fail would have lurked next to many personal successes. But I kept striving – my way.

Who Ya Gonna Serve is a recurring theme on The Paceline. Put “serve” in the search window and you’ll get 10 hits. Those 10 are probably included in the 7.59B hits according to the Googleizer.

A lot of people want to serve. Everyone needs to serve. The question remains: to whom or to what?

Tripp asserts: “We were created by God to be connected to something vastly bigger than ourselves. We were designed to have our lives organized and directed by an agenda that is bigger than our truncated personal desires and goals.”

We say we hate slavery, but we push God away because we don’t want to follow his rules. But we absolutely follow other rules – or ignore rules that enslave others. Crazy! Right?

It’s taken me a long time to figure this out. Giving up my rules to follow God’s rules is incredibly freeing.

It doesn’t mean giving up what you really like for something that is really constraining. It means giving up what’s literally hopeless for a joy and peace that surpasses all understanding.

Freedom! Give it up to get it all.

Crazy! Right?