1. It’s common for all humans to allow worldly things to creep into how we seek God out. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life, but we often find ourselves trying to carve out our own paths. It’s good to like order, especially since Jehovah is a God of order. Sometimes we allow our desire for order to stray too far into legalism. Starting with laws intended to create order but the results are rigid, legalistic distortions that put barriers between us and living how Jesus did. It could be women can't have short hair, men can't have long hair or any number of other things. What rules do you impose (or wish to impose) on others that don't point them directly to Jesus? Where do these rules originate from?
2. Freedom is a good thing granted to us by the Creator of the Universe. That doesn’t mean we can live our lives to please ourselves while claiming to be a follower of Christ. Whether we live a completely unrestrained, hedonistic life or with slightly more restraint, but still intentionally reject Jesus’ commands and expect Him to show us grace, we must seek His pleasure, not our own. Maybe it's not drugs, sex, and alcohol, but it feels good to be short with a server. Or you'd rather spend all your money on yourself and give next to nothing to under-resourced families. What behaviors have you engaged in that went against God's principles, but you excused it because it made you feel good?
3. Christianity is becoming increasingly politicized in America, to the point where the version of Christianity getting espoused by political parties is unrecognizable compared to the Gospels. Side note: if you hold firm to a party platform that can’t directly point to Jesus’ words, you can call it just about whatever you want, but it isn’t Christian. Jesus spent most of His ministry building relationships with and teaching the sinners, and He chastised the religious leaders of His day. What political "sacred cows" do you hold to that weren't directly addressed by Jesus?
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