By: Kyle Thorp

Protect, not Oppress 

While I was growing up, there was a piece of paper taped to a wall in my house. On that paper was a simple drawing: A circle with a dot just outside of it and an arrow pointing to the middle of the circle. My parents explained to me that the circle represented God’s protection. As long as we were inside, we were safe. Whenever we disobeyed, we stepped outside the circle, where we put ourselves into trouble. That simple picture served as a reminder whenever I went my own way that I needed to get back inside the circle. This illustration has shaped my understanding of rules and laws.

They are not meant to oppress but to protect.

Moving outside the circle

In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide if laws forbidding members of the same sex to marry should remain in place. One side argued that such laws infringed on the rights of those who identified as gay or lesbian. The other side argued that to change the laws would undermine the very idea of marriage. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, and marriage was redefined and made legal across the board.

Was the Supreme Court right to move the boundaries that protected married couples? Were the old rules appropriate for the past but not for today?

By creating our own circle, are we moving outside of God’s circle? 

The First Law

There is a difference between human law and God’s law. To understand the difference, we must look at the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had only one law. If they followed it, nothing could harm them in the paradise God had created for them. They could eat every kind of fruit imaginable, but one tree was off limits. God forbade them to eat of it, not out of cruelty but out of love. “For when you eat of it, you will surely die.” We could ask a lot of questions about this commandment. “Why would Adam and Eve die after eating the fruit?” “What made that tree so special?” “Why did God put the tree there if Adam and Eve could never eat its fruit?” But the bottom line is that Adam and Eve did not believe that God knew what was best for them, and so they ate the fruit.

Ever since Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God has continued to give us commands to protect us and to allow us to enjoy true freedom. Verses like Galatians 5:13 — “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” — and 1 John 3:4 — “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” — remind us of the truth that peace and joy can only be found within certain boundaries.

I could offer several reasons why marriage should be between a man and a woman, but it ultimately comes down to trust in God and His commandments. Our culture says if you have feelings for someone—no matter who they are—you should embrace them. The Bible makes it very clear that certain types of relationships fall outside the lines because they will only hurt us.

The first sin was re-defining God’s command for the sake of our own pleasure, and we’ve been dealing with the consequences ever since. 

God’s Circle or My Own?

I have desires to eat sweets, to drive a car fast, to sleep, a lot. I also have the responsibility decide which desires to act upon and which to ignore. God’s word helps me to do that. Paul says in Romans 7:7, “Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law.” Although I have the desire for homosexual relationships, the Bible warns me against those relationships. Even if I do not fully understand His reasons, I trust His rules — because I trust Him. I would rather be in His circle than try to construct my own.

I am grateful that God gave us rules and boundaries to guide our growth in godliness and love. Freedom is not doing what you want. Freedom is choosing good as God reveals it, not as I want it, even if it means denying myself of certain things I desire.

Creating your own circle inevitably means getting further outside of God’s. Let’s choose to live inside the life that Jesus has created for us, even if it requires sacrifice. Jesus has shown us that the sacrifices we make come with a resurrection.

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Kyle Thorp holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from Grove City College. He currently resides in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he is pursuing an MDiv at Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity and working part-time. He plans to enter full-time ministry after completing his degree.