The Monkey Trap

We've all heard how easy it is to catch a monkey. You simply put something the monkey wants inside a container that has an opening just big enough for the monkey to put an empty hand inside. The monkey puts its hand in, grabs the object, and with the object in hand can no longer get his hand out of the jar. The simple solution would be to let go, but the stubborn, greedy monkey refuses to let go and is taken into bondage.

It isn't difficult to see the comparison here to monkey's and people who cling to unnecessary pain. When we cling to past offenses, or hold grudges, or refuse to forgive ourselves or others or any other of the things that fall into the category of unnecessary pain we are acting just like monkeys. We are stubbornly putting ourselves into bondage to the pain and suffering that ensue.

But all we need to do to be free of the pain is let go. It is so simple! Just let go of the grievance and the pain disappears.

Liberty of the Law

In his epistle to the Galatians the apostle Paul teaches something that is so misunderstood. He talks about liberty and bondage in terms of the law. Too many times we get a notion in our heads that the commandments are a bondage, a burden placed upon us that keeps us from doing what we want to do.

But Paul points out that the law is only bondage when we try to live only by the law. In other words, the Galatians had the 613 laws of Moses and they are trying to faithfully live by those laws as if that's all that mattered for salvation. To do that they had to have all 613 memorized and then act only within those laws. That is bondage because every time they went to make a move they had to stop and figure out if the move was in obedience to those 613 laws.

But Paul explains that the law of Moses has been fulfilled and that the purpose of law is to bring us to Christ and then Christ gives the Spirit to us and the Spirit guides us as to what we are to do. That is liberty! Instead of having to constantly refer to memorized laws and try to determine if our intended action is within the law, we rely on the Spirit to tell us whether what we want to do is right or wrong. That is freedom! It is the freedom to enjoy the peace, comfort, guidance, joy, and love the Spirit brings, and to shake off the shackles of worrying about whether everything we eat or drink or do fits within the law.

Soaring on the Wings of Truth

The last few days I’ve heard a lot about patriotism, freedom, and the wonderful people who have made liberty possible. I say, “Amen!” to all of that. But before we get too far past the Independence Day celebrating I want to celebrate a different kind of freedom. I am free when I live in Truth. That is the true freedom in my life. When I live in Truth I release the chains of the past and open the door for possibilities in the future.

As the Savior said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). To be free means to be free from the bondage of the natural man. It means you are free from the unnecessary pain of anger and hurt, free to obtain peace, joy and happiness. And obtaining that freedom comes when we choose to avoid the Pit of Illusion and Live in Truth.

I am a child of God and as such do not need to be chained to the bondage of Illusion. Instead I write the story of my life in terms of faith, hope, and love. I am not confined to telestial realities because I know about celestial truth. No longer do I accept a limited story of my life. Instead, I stand in the fullness of my divine nature. I know that in Truth I am absolutely and unconditionally free. As the Savior went on to say in the book of John, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36.

Governmental liberty is a great blessing, but to be free from internal bondage is an even greater blessing.