AWAY FROM HOME: THE TEMPTATIONS OF A TEENAGER
When my parents dropped me off at the State University, they looked at me and said words of prayer for me. My extra-large “Ghana-must-go” bag was full of provisions that I would need, but my heart was full of parental warnings like, “Remember the son of who you are” and “Do not walk with bad friends”. They bade me farewell.
They could not have travelled many kilometres when I knew that I had battles to fight: As I opened up the wardrobe in the flat I would share with some others (it was a privately owned apartment of a relative), the first thing I saw was a pack of condoms. In another compartment was a stack of empty alcohol bottles. Right beside the bed was a stack of pornographic discs. The devil seems to be ready for war.
Let me admit: I was in that environment for about eight months. I was not rooted in any church, and I did not grow spiritually. The only thing that kept me was the fear of disappointing my heritage.
Beloved, I know you desire to be free from the claws of your parents. I know you want to get out there and “enjoy your life”. You feel they are overbearing right now. But what is the cost of the freedom you crave so much?
Freedom can be like a sharp knife. If you grab the handle, it becomes a tool for great things. It can cut down opposition and adversity as you advance in life and destiny. But if you are careless and grab it by the blade, it will cut you, and you will bleed badly.
A lot of young ones grab freedom at the blade, and it injures them really bad. They have not mastered the art of channelling freedom for destiny fulfilment.
This is the truth: The moment you think you are free to do anything you want, you are already in prison. You are a slave of strange desires. You become a slave to your lust and craving. The person who therefore enjoys the greatest freedom will be a mad man (he has no inhibitions. He has no restraints. Even if he commits a crime. His insanity is a defence).
You are not truly free; you only have the freedom to decide what you will be tied to. Will you be tied to destiny-shaping decisions, or will you be driven by destiny-wrecking choices? You are either a slave to sin that leads to eternal death, or you are a slave of righteousness that produces life.
Dear one, the only choice you have is the freedom to choose who your master will be in life. Will it be sin, or will it be righteousness?
Hear Apostle Paul: Don’t you realise that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
Romans 6:16, 18 NLT
What is your choice?
temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa