March 26, 2019 – Michelle Lesley

We ladies need to be really careful about viewing issues through the lens of our past experiences, and basing our beliefs, and teaching of others, around that experience, rather than on Scripture.

For example, you may have come out of an abusive marriage (and praise God that He rescued you out of that!) but that does not mean all marriages are abusive, nor that Christian women in relatively healthy marriages should not follow the Bible’s instruction to submit to our husbands.

Perhaps God saved you out of alcoholism (again, praise God!). You may have had some really terrible experiences related to alcohol and want nothing more to do with it, and that’s fine, but your experience does not change the fact that the Bible does not teach a zero tolerance policy of alcohol (only of drunkennes) for all people.

Our experiences tend to shape how we view the world, and even Scripture, sometimes. When we’ve been through a traumatic experience, our initial reaction is often to put as much distance between ourselves and that experience as possible – even to the extent of trying to eradicate that issue in the lives of those around us (“Women should never submit to their husbands!” “No one should ever drink alcohol!”) – because it makes us feel safer.

But as we dive into God’s word, worship, prayer, and the fellowship of the saints, He begins to heal those wounds from the past, and we stop feeling threatened by freedom. We begin to see that our safety is found in Christ, not in building walls out of laws around ourselves.

Don’t trade the prison of your terrible experience for the prison of unbiblical laws and rules. True freedom is found in trusting Christ and His word.