Matthew 4:12-23
Slaves to Freedom
James Sledge January
26, 2020
I
once saw a newspaper comic strip that depicted a teenager who was angry at his
parents for not letting him do something he wanted to do. He yelled, “I’ll be
glad when I’m 18 and no one can tell me what to do!” The final panel showed his
parents doubled over in laughter.
As
much as we celebrate freedom and individualism in this country, almost none of
us ever reach the point where no one can tell us what to do. It may be parents, a teacher, or professor;
it may be our boss; it may be the speed limit and the police radar gun, but much
of the time, we either do as others say or suffer the consequences.
We
often wish it were otherwise. That starts early. Toddlers love the word “No!”
Children and adults enjoy saying, “You can’t make me.” Part of American mythology is that anyone can
grow up to be whatever he or she wants to be. We know it’s not really true,
even if it’s truer here than in many countries. But still, we love the idea
that we’re free to become whatever we want, that we can simply decide, and if
we try hard enough, we will make it.
In
some countries, children are given aptitude tests and then slotted into certain
academic or vocational tracks as early as elementary school. That would never fly here.
Yet
despite this, people often ask themselves the question, “What should I do with
my life?” That’s a somewhat different question from “What do I want to do?” What
I want to do is about preference,
but what I should do speaks of
something outside myself having a say.
Sometimes
people go to career counseling services to help figure out what sort of thing
they should do. Some colleges offer such services to their students. People who
are thinking about changing careers sometimes use them. And our denomination
requires people who want to become pastors to be evaluated by a reputable
career center.
This
career counseling usually includes tests that chart personality, interests, and
aptitudes. The process assumes that certain traits are necessary for certain
careers. When I was 12, I would have loved to become a rock and roll star, but
it didn’t take all that many guitar lessons to make it obvious that would never
happen.
So
I’m wondering, what information would you consider in making a decision about
what you should do with your life? Whose
voice would you listen to; what authority would you recognize as having a say
in that decision?
And
this isn’t limited to decisions about career. Life is full of should questions. Where should I go to
college? Should I go to grad school? Should we get married? Should we have
children? How should we raise our children? How should we spend our
retirement? What should we do with our
estate? The list goes on and on. Perhaps you’re wrestling with such a question
right now.
How
do you answer such questions? Who and what get a say in answering the question,
“What should I do?”