Monday, August 31 [Use] your freedom, not as a cover for doing wrong, but as slaves of God.​—1 Pet. 2:16.

[Ella Mentry]

Monday, August 31

[Use] your freedom, not as a cover for doing wrong, but as slaves of God.—1 Pet. 2:16.

 

We should never take for granted that Jehovah liberated us from the bondage of sin and of death. By means of the ransom, we can serve our God with a clean conscience and find real delight in doing so. (Ps. 40:8) In addition to expressing gratitude, however, we should be mindful of never misusing our precious freedom. The apostle Peter warned against using our freedom as an excuse for catering to our fleshly desires. Does that warning not remind you of what befell the Israelites in the wilderness? And the danger is still with us, perhaps even more so. Satan and his world offer ever more alluring choices in dress and grooming, food and drink, recreation and entertainment, and a host of other things. Clever advertisers often feature attractive people deceptively promoting as must-haves many things we really do not need. How easy it is to fall prey to these ploys and to misuse our freedom! w18.04 10 ¶7-8

[georider]

We must also remember that this freedom is nothing we earned nor do we deserve it! Therefore we must do our utmost to preserve and cherish this most generous gift from Jehovah that we will never be able to repay!