Be free to serve one another!

Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

I read this verse and think of a really good question. Is it possible to serve one another in love while at the same time indulging in sinful nature?

Talking about OUR indulgence in sin is not something we like to do. We would like the answer to the question above to be "yes" and we come up with all kinds of rationalization to help us justify our indulgence.

Freedom is also at question in this verse. What is this freedom that is talked about? Freedom to some people is free choice, to do whatever they want. But I believe the freedom this verse is talking about is freedom from the law of sin.

Meaning, its not freedom from having to abide by the law but freedom from condemnation because God put a plan in place for our redemption through the ultimate sacrifice of his son. In other words, God knows our sins past, present and future and has already paid the penalty which is death. Hence we have freedom from the law, only by his grace, not anything we do.

So in this verse the disciple Paul (the chief of all sinners as he called himself) is telling us to use our freedom to serve one another in love. Can we do this while indulging in sin? I believe not because sin violates the love we have for one another. Sin often puts us in a state of hypocrisy and that is surely a stumbling block when attempting to serve one another.

For example, if we indulge in the habitual sin of worry, how can we help another with their worries? What if they find out you worry just as much? Then your freedom is snatched away by a wave of condemnation.

Be free to serve one another!