Remember the old saying, “The devil made me do it?” Okay, that might age you but the point is does the devil really have the authority to make you do anything? He temps, deceives and lies but he can’t force us against our will.

Galatians 5:1 says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Christ set us free so our focus could be on Him and not caught or entangled in distractions.

There are many ways we can be caught up in a yoke of slavery. Everything from sports to social media vies for our attention. Verse 1 reminds us to “stand firm” in the freedom we have been given and “do not let yourselves be burdened.” We have a choice; follow Christ or the world. That doesn’t mean we are to isolate ourselves from society, simply do not to become entangled in its values and lose focus of the One who set us free.

Too many times it is not the devil that makes us do something; but we allow ourselves to follow worldly desires. Verse 16 provides an answer, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

How do you “live by the Spirit” to avoid becoming entangled in worldly things?