Devotion 20

{WELCOME}

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John 8:36 "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

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I'm so thankful that I was lucky enough to be born in a nation were we have so much freedom. But I have been thinking, are we really free? There are many different kinds of prisons and many different ways a person can be bound. We live in a country where we say we have freedom of speech and yet some of us don't even have freedom of thought. We let other people trap us into trying to be someone they think we are. Suppose someone told you that you were worthless or stupid, you might believe them and never really try to learn, never really try to be successful at anything. A child who is continually told he is bad may never try to be good because he believes he can't be good! How many times has some suggested to you that your hair might look better in a different style or that you needed to lose or gain weight and caused you to start thinking of getting a hair cut or start eating differently? Have you ever been told that what you do is not really important? How did that make you feel about yourself? People that make derogatory remarks about you do not have your best interest at heart and you should not let them make you feel bad about yourself. God wants us to live free lives and that includes freedom to be ourselves and to feel good about ourselves. He does not want us to spend our lives trying to live up to someone else's expectations.

I was watching a talk show the other day and they were doing makeovers. The women's daughters had brought their moms in for a makeover because they were outdated. I saw an improvement in some of the women but there was one in particular that I noticed. In her before shot, she had on a neat suit and pumps; her hair was neat and flecked with a little gray. She had on minimal make up but looked very pretty, I thought. When the makeup artists and hair stylists got through with her she had on a black leather skirt and jacket, boots and had short red hair! They made her into someone she wasn't and she even remarked that she felt uncomfortable dressed that way! Of course, everyone assured her that she looked fabulous and should always dress that way. How ridiculous!

Some of us fall prey to the suggestions of others too easily. Oh, the power of persuasion! Don't let others dictate who you are! Free yourself from the persuasion of others! If you are a good housekeeper, make sure it is because you want to be and not because someone else thinks you should be. It drives my husband nuts because I have to have the beds made no matter what. That's just the way I feel. I feel awful if my beds are unmade! That's who I am! And after 35 years of marriage he still seemingly can't accept that. Do you nag someone else about something? Well stop. Let them be who they are! This is really the only true freedom we have in this life, the freedom to be ourselves, and most of us die trying to be someone else!