Want Spiritual Freedom? Then Follow the Rules!

But isn’t following rules counterintuitive to freedom?

Yes, if you want worldly freedom. But if you want spiritual freedom, following the rules is necessary for 3 reasons:

• To be a slave to righteousness instead of sin
• To be free from tyranny
• To keep us humble

1. Be a Slave to the Right Things

As long as a person is alive in this world, I believe they cannot be truly free.

They are tied to their bodies until death. And since we all inhabit our bodies, we are a slave to meeting our wants and needs. That is called desire, and to be human is to desire.

Many spiritual traditions teach that we need to let go of worldly desires.

People misconstrue these teachings to say that having desire is bad. Surely, unrestrained desire is bad — I’m talking about the kind you are a slave to, the kind that leads to an unhealthy craving for more. This type of desire is what spiritual traditions teach us to let go of.

Living in modern society has taught me that having desire is part of humanity. The world has an abundance of things to meet these desires. To do this healthily, having spiritual discipline is vital. History teaches us that religious differences have led to wars. As an individual, I believe that all religions serve as a vehicle to spiritual freedom and it is up to the individual to pick one, stick to it, and refrain from prejudice toward other beliefs.

I follow Christianity and in Genesis, God blesses us with The Tower of Babel — a story of what unrestrained desire leads to.

“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Gen 11: 4)

The people of Babylonia had the desire to build up their city and conquer the earth. They believed they were self-sufficient due to their technological advancements and social unity. As a result, they no longer needed God.

What happened?

And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (Gen 11:6)

God broke up their plan quite literally as he dispersed them throughout the world, confused their language, and called the unfinished city Babel.

God didn’t do this as an act of tyranny. He did this because he knew what unrestrained human desire leads to. Babylonia was in the early stages of an unhealthy desire for power. If left unchecked, any desire will lead to you craving more.

Then, once locked in a cycle of craving, you become a slave to the wrong things:

• Power
• Greed
• Lust
• Money

Let’s flip this on its head shall we:

But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6: 17–18)

Following any spiritual discipline will give you instructions on what is righteous.

If to be human is to have desires, why not be a slave to the right kind?

• Virtue — wisdom, justice, courage, and self-control

2. Freedom from the Tyranny of The Devil

Lock my body, can’t trap my mind. Easily explain why we adapt to crime. (Jay-Z, Can I Live?)

Locked in the desires of this world is an endless tyranny.

The devil tempts you by masquerading these desires as a right of passage. Going to college is an example of this as it implies that you party, have sex, and YOLO it up. Surely this is fun once, but it can quickly turn vicious if the fun is prolonged.

Jay-Z’s lyrics speak volumes about the viciousness of an addiction. Eventually, your body will be locked, meaning that you are shackled by that addiction. What was once a way to relax has now turned you into a slave.

The slave master has complete control over you. It is the reason why addicts spend whatever they got on the drug that made them slaves in the first place. They seek to be free through the thing that binds them to the world. See how ironic that is? How can you expect to be free if you do not flee that which causes you to be a slave?

Your bodily desires are locked in a vicious cycle.

How do you get out?

This brings me to the next line in Jay-Z’s lyrics: Can’t trap my mind.

Even though your body is a slave of this world, you always have a choice in your mind to be free. You can run from sin or you could run towards it. This is the classic free-will dilemma presented to us in Adam and Eve.

Human nature has never changed.

The Bible, through the teachings of Jesus, presents us with rules to feed the spirit instead of the flesh.

We are always free to escape the tyranny of the devil.

3. Sit Down, Be Humble

The desire for money is necessary to survive.

As I said, desires are not wrong to pursue. The pursuit only turns sour when left unchecked. Satisfying desire is required success.

And when you meet that desire, you may feel like you’re on top of the world!

That feeling of meeting and even exceeding the goals you worked so hard for is liberating. Pouring your heart and soul into your craft and reaping the rewards makes it all worth it. You celebrate and then celebrate some more.

The pride of life has you now. Ego and power-hungry, you may start to devise ways to chase that feeling again. Forgetting your humble beginnings can lead to a voracious end.

Rewards for your efforts are only given through God. If the means to your end goal is noble, ethical, and just, then the rewards you reap are God’s way of saying, “Thank You for advancing my kingdom!”

He is also exclaiming, “Now stay disciplined, because I could also take it all away!”

To whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48)

Your ego will inflate like a balloon when you achieve success.

Wisdom gained from a spiritual discipline will make sure that balloon doesn’t pop.

Conclusion

As children, we are taught that rules are important.

We are never taught why they are important. I’ll admit that some rules of this world are stupid and restrictive. That’s because humans have made them.

Rules of a spiritual discipline are timeless because they come from God. These rules are not specific to our generation but to all the generations before us. For that reason, they are to be revered.

If followed, these rules will not restrict but rather grant us expansion and freedom!

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