Ministry Standards Overview
The End of Self

When the Truth Doesn't Set You Free

There isn't a day go by that I don't quote John 8:32 to someone, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Why is Screen Shot 2022-03-02 at 10.54.40 AM this such an important passage? It's because we are often holding on to a truth that we think is the truth but in reality is a half-truth or non-truth. If something isn't freeing but restricting us from being or doing all that we could, it is not the truth Jesus was addressing.

In Jesus' day, the Jews held the "truth" that no prophet could come from Galilee or no good from Nazareth. Thus, they missed the truth of Jesus because they held some other "truth." The first Jewish believers knew the truth that everyone had to follow the law of Moses even after they professed faith in Christ. Thus, they missed the freedom that came from putting their total trust in Jesus.

We could go on and on about the "truths" that have bound whole cultures. At one point, we "knew" that the world was flat, the sun orbited the earth, that people with lighter skin were superior to those with darker, and that bleeding someone who was sick would make them well. Men and women were ready to, and often did, die for these so-called truths. Sincerely holding that a belief is true isn't the issue, for I can be sincere and that only makes me sincerely misguided.

What truth are you holding about yourself that isn't setting you free, but limiting your effectiveness? Are you thinking, "I'm too old," "I'm too young," "I'm not that talented," "I can't get my hands on that kind of money to start my business," or "I can't write"? If you are, is that the truth or is it a lie that appears to be or sounds like truth? Are you part of an organization that believes the same kind of limiting "truths"?

I regularly try to find time to examine various truths I hold about myself that may or may not be true at all. They may be limiting me and putting me in a box. It's true that I'm an author, I'm creative, I'm a source of joy and inspiration for many people, but there were times when I haven't walked in those truths and was bound.

How about you? Are there any truths about yourself that haven't set you free but tied you up? If so, then those things aren't the truth at all; you are only labeling them as such. Spend some time examining these ideas, conclusions, or assumptions that have limited your ability to create or be purposeful. Only then can the truth be the truth, which is powerful enough to transform you and set you free.

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