Laela
Sidestepping the "lynch mob"
When we strive to become Christians, we fight all kinds of bondage, esp. bondage to sin. There's one type of bondage that also can hinder or block my blessings, and that's People Bondage -Worrying what others think and letting how/what others think about us dictate our actions. This bondage also ties in with the bondage of will, when Paul warns of not using grace to sin but to be truly FREE.
To paraphrase a saying: When you're in your 20s, you care about what everyone thinks, in your 40s you tend not to care what anyone says, by your 60s you wish someone would even look your way.
I have been freed from People Bondage. But when I look back, I remember some of the things that kept me from receiving a blessing when I was in People Bondage:
I used to dress to attract the young men I had a crush on in church
I didn't want the Spirit on me, for fear of falling out or being ridiculed
I HAD to make sure I didn't wear the same clothes twice in one month
I was ashamed of my $1 offering and balled it up in my hands so no one saw it
Crying or showing emotion in church was not an option; so I refrained
I sometimes sat in the front, so others would notice my new hair-do/outfit
I was ashamed of pulling out my Bible in public for fear of being called a Fanatic
.... I could go on and on.
John 8:36 - If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed~
To paraphrase a saying: When you're in your 20s, you care about what everyone thinks, in your 40s you tend not to care what anyone says, by your 60s you wish someone would even look your way.
I have been freed from People Bondage. But when I look back, I remember some of the things that kept me from receiving a blessing when I was in People Bondage:
I used to dress to attract the young men I had a crush on in church
I didn't want the Spirit on me, for fear of falling out or being ridiculed
I HAD to make sure I didn't wear the same clothes twice in one month
I was ashamed of my $1 offering and balled it up in my hands so no one saw it
Crying or showing emotion in church was not an option; so I refrained
I sometimes sat in the front, so others would notice my new hair-do/outfit
I was ashamed of pulling out my Bible in public for fear of being called a Fanatic
.... I could go on and on.
John 8:36 - If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed~
