The biggest lie our culture believes? That following your desires leads to freedom. True freedom in Christ is not found by following our desires. It is found by following Jesus Christ. That truth stands in direct opposition to the message our culture repeats every day, yet it is the very message God proclaims in His Word.
Simply put: True freedom in Christ is found by following Jesus instead of following our desires. Freedom is not doing whatever we want. It is becoming the person God created us to be through obedience to Christ.
Culture Says Follow Your Heart. Jesus Says Follow Me.
Everywhere we turn, we hear the same message: follow your heart, trust your feelings, and live your truth. If something feels right, we’re told we should embrace it because denying ourselves is unhealthy. It sounds appealing, but it is not what Jesus taught.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Notice what He did not say. He never told us to follow our hearts. He told us to follow Him. That is where real freedom begins.
For years, I believed the world’s definition of freedom. I thought happiness would come if I followed my desires. Instead, I discovered that following sinful desires doesn’t lead to freedom. It leads to bondage.
Alcohol became one of the greatest chains in my life. Every drink promised relief, peace, and escape, but it slowly became my master. By God’s grace, He rescued me from that addiction and showed me a truth I’ll never forget: sin always promises more than it can deliver.
Every One of Us Has a Master
The lie our culture believes is that freedom means answering to no one. Scripture teaches something completely different.
In Romans 6:16, Paul writes, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Every one of us serves something. We either follow our sinful desires or we follow Christ. There is no middle ground.
The amazing truth is that God’s commands are not meant to rob us of joy. They protect us from the very things that destroy us. The more I have followed Christ, the more I have discovered that obedience isn’t a burden. It’s the pathway to freedom.
My Greatest Battle Today
Today, alcoholism is no longer my greatest daily struggle. By God’s grace, He has given me lasting sobriety. My greatest daily battle is continuing to follow Christ while experiencing same sex attraction.
Some people assume that if you truly follow Jesus, every sinful desire disappears. That has not been my experience, and it is not what the Bible promises.
In Galatians 5:16–17, Paul describes the ongoing battle between the flesh and the Spirit. The Christian life is not the absence of temptation. It is learning to walk by the Spirit in the middle of temptation.
That truth has changed my life. I no longer measure freedom by whether temptation exists. I measure freedom by whom I choose to obey. There are difficult days, but Christ continues to give me the strength to remain faithful.
Freedom does not always mean the temptation disappears. Sometimes freedom means the temptation no longer determines how you live.
My identity is not defined by my strongest temptation. My identity is found in Jesus Christ.
Obedience Is the Path to Freedom
Many people hear the word obedience and think of rules or legalism. The Bible presents something completely different. We are not saved because we obey. We obey because Christ has already saved us.
Jesus said in John 8:31–32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Freedom comes from abiding in Christ and submitting to His truth, not creating our own.
The world says your desires define you. Jesus says He defines you. The world says fulfillment comes from looking within yourself. Christ calls us to look to Him. Those are two completely different paths, and they lead to two completely different destinations.
The Freedom I Was Looking For
Looking back, I realize I spent years searching for freedom in all the wrong places. I thought freedom meant having no restraints and no one telling me how to live. I was wrong.
The greatest freedom I have ever experienced came when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. Following Him has not removed every struggle or every temptation, but it has given me something far greater. It has given me forgiveness, purpose, peace, and the assurance that I never face my battles alone.
If you’re exhausted from chasing desires that never satisfy, I want to encourage you with this truth: Jesus isn’t trying to take freedom from you. He’s inviting you to experience the freedom you were created for. Real freedom isn’t found by following yourself. Real freedom is found by following Christ.
Arch Kennedy
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