If you want to talk about a word that has as many different connotations and definitions as there are people in the world, let’s just talk about the word FREEDOM. A teenager is going to have a different definition of “freedom” than a person in prison. An American may have a different definition than a European. A parent of toddlers is for sure going to have a different definition than their toddler (speaking from current experience on this one!).
Definitions of Freedom
If you Google the “definition of freedom,” the first one that you see is “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” My guess is that when most people think of the word “freedom,” they think of some personal version of this definition. Free to do what I want, when I want, where I want, and how I want.
But if you scroll down a little further on the Google definitions, you’ll run into this one: “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.” This is much closer to the definition that we would use when we talk about freedom in CHRIST. It’s not about having the power to do whatever I want; it’s about no longer being in bondage to the things that keep me from being and doing all that God created me to be and do.
However, many people who love and follow Jesus have ineffective (and exhausting) methods for trying to experience this kind of freedom. Many of us have been taught, “If you are in bondage to insecurity, be more confident!” “If you are in bondage to money, stop caring so much about it!” “If you are in bondage to pornography, get an accountability partner who will call you out on it!” In other words, whatever is holding you in bondage…just stop it! Self-discipline your way out of it.
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to will-power your way out of bondage but take it from me: It doesn’t work. It wears you out. And it totally disheartens you. There’s got to be another way.
The Tree Analogy
Friends, living in freedom is so much more than just fixing our external struggles. At Mercy, we often use the analogy of a tree. I don’t know about you, but when I look at a tree, I hardly ever think about the fact that there is a root system under it. How bizarre that the very part of the tree that you can’t see is the part that’s the most powerful. It not only holds the tree upright, but it also determines whether or not that tree is healthy!
The tree of our lives consists of branches, which are our behaviors – the ways we act and the attitudes that come out of us. And it’s those unhealthy branches that we often look at in our lives and say, “I want freedom from that.” Things like people-pleasing, overeating, anxiety, insecurity, addiction, comparison, emotional instability, depression… are what we would characterize as branches on the tree.
Under the branches is the trunk, which is the belief system that we have developed over the course of our lives – the things we believe about ourselves, about God, and about other people and the world around us. It’s those beliefs that sustain and uphold the branches.
However, it’s the ROOTS of the tree that are the ultimate source that feeds both the trunk and the branches. The roots in our lives draw their power from the different circumstances in our lives that have affected us. So things like divorce, the loss of a family member, being bullied, a long-term sickness, trauma… those experiences often grow roots of abandonment, rejection, unworthiness, shame, fear, bitterness. Those roots then feed our belief system that then determines our behaviors.
Here’s why this analogy is so important: We tend to focus our attention only on what we can see, so we work our tails off trying to cut off the unhealthy branches of behavior in our lives. And yes, you might be able, through sheer self-discipline, to succeed in cutting an unhealthy branch off. But if a tree is growing bad fruit out in my yard, I’m not going to go cut off all the branches! Why? Because if the roots are still damaged, other unhealthy branches will grow right back in their place! If the roots are never dealt with, that tree’s branches will always be unhealthy.
Behavior Modification is not Freedom
Friends, our ultimate goal cannot be behavior modification because guess what? That’s not freedom! Behavior modification is only an outward change, not an inward transformation. I once heard: “Managing behaviors just shuffles bondage around.”
No, our goal is to connect our hearts to God’s heart in such a way that He heals us and restores us from a root level. He rebuilds those pieces of our belief systems that don’t line up with His truth. And as those destructive roots start to get UP-rooted and they begin to fill up with truth, the unhealthy branches will start falling off, and healthy branches will grow in their place!
Jesus’ heart for us is not that we would clean up our behavior but that we would seek an intimate relationship with Him so that He can bring healing and transformation at a root level. He wants to give us the kind of healing and freedom that only He can give. THAT is what true freedom looks like!
Mercy Multiplied exists to provide opportunities for all to experience God’s unconditional love, forgiveness, and life-transforming power. We offer multiple programs and resources online and onsite designed to equip people to live free and stay free in Christ. For more information about the services we offer, click here.
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