Are you frustratred at the state of the world, your work, your community, etc.?
Do you feel like you’re not having the positive impact you could or should on the people around you?
The solution might not be to “do more”. The solution might be much simpler than that.
Here’s a fundamental truth…
You can’t give what you don’t have.
Unhealthy people can’t help others get healthy no matter how much they care.
“Hurt people hurt people” is true, but so is this: only free people free people.
A lot of us try to help people find things we haven’t found for ourselves – freedom, peace, joy, love, etc.
We want so badly to make an impact, but we’re weighed down by the very things we’re hoping others will overcome.
So the question isn’t “How do I change the world?” The better question is, “Is the world changing already because I’m in it?”
Think of it this way…
Slaves can’t set other people free.
Slaves don’t get to choose. They don’t get to dream. They just obey. And the modern versions of slavery don’t use chains; they use false promises.
So what’s promising you a better future than the one you fear? That’s your master.
- If success directs your decisions, you’re a slave to approval.
- If money directs your decisions, you’re a slave to attainment.
- If emotions direct your decisions, you’re a slave to comfort.
These are different masters with the same promise: safety.
Slavery promises safety, but freedom requires risk and faith.
And most of us settle for the illusion of freedom – a box of “choices” pre-defined by whatever controls us. We think we’re choosing, but really we’re just picking from a menu created by what we allow to master us.
Jesus said He came to proclaim freedom for the captives (Luke 4:18). He didn’t force freedom on anyone; He simply announced that it was available.
But freedom always comes with sacrifice. You must give up whatever pleasure, comfort, or identity your old master offered you.
You’re “free” to eat whatever you want, but if cravings always win, you’re not free. You’re “free” to say whatever you want, but if your temper calls the shots, you’re not free.
The greatest deception is the illusion that we’re free when we’re actually just choosing the things that control us.
Even the Jews believed they were free.
In John 8, when Jesus told them the truth would set them free, they insisted they were already free. But they weren’t. They were bound by approval, pride, and their own self-righteousness.
And we’re just like them.
We find something that makes us comfortable, and then we defend it. We build our identity around it. We protect it. And without meaning to, we choose masters who give us short-term peace while stealing long-term freedom.
Peter puts it bluntly: “You are slaves to whatever masters you.”
So the challenge is to take an honest look at what you’ve allowed to be your master. Once you acknowledge it, you get to willingly submit it to Jesus and become a willing slave to Jesus (1 Corinthians 7:22) – which just means that you give your desires for approval, success, etc. to Jesus in exchange for true freedom in Christ.
This is the easy yoke Jesus talked about. (Matthew 11:29)
Here’s the beautiful part: He doesn’t shame us for having masters. He knows that we’re all feeble like sheep gone astray, needing a master. He simply offers Himself as the better master. In fact, he is the only master who sets His people free.
“If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Freedom comes from walking away from the things that control you so you can walk with the One who loves you. But it starts with abandoning the promises offered by false masters.
Peter said in 2 Peter 2:20 that the way we escape the depravity of the world is by knowing Jesus. That’s it. Knowing Jesus, who is the truth, is what sets you free.
We get to choose our master.
And here’s the thing:
If you want your marriage, your family, your career, your friends, or your community to experience freedom, you can’t give what you don’t have.
If you’re wondering why you don’t seem to be making the impact you would like with your life, I would challenge you to look at how free you are yourself.
Because you can’t offer something you don’t have.
If you’re not truly free, then people around you can’t be free.
Just like hurt people hurt people, only free people free people.
Confront what masters you and find freedom for yourself.
The hope of the world is people like you becoming Christ’s ambassador. You are part of God’s plan for the redemption of the world.
Jesus gives us freedom so we can offer it to others.
But if you’re allowing something else to master you, then you’re allowing that thing to withhold freedom from both you and the world around you.
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