The liberty of exclusivity: Choice, freedom and Jesus

I was born in the mid-1970s when there were three television channels in the UK: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. That was it. If you wanted to watch TV, you had very little choice about what to watch and no choice about when to watch it.

If your favourite programme was broadcast at 8pm on a Tuesday, you had to be there to watch it at 8pm on a Tuesday. If you missed it, you missed it. And that was that. No video recorders. No internet. No streaming. No catch-up. You missed it.

This notion is unthinkable today. We are used to choice. It is assumed. It’s practically a human right. Go into a shop to buy a biro, you expect three different brands, four different colours, boxes of different quantities of pens, and one pen with all four colours. And you expect a choice of shops.

I’ve become so used to choice and convenience that I really hate pre-booking a train. I know it’s cheaper. But I can’t make myself do it. I’m terrified of committing to one train at one time. If my plans change or I miss that one train, I will lose my money and will have to buy another ticket. I really don’t like cutting down my options.

'You shall have no other gods before me'

The very first commandment, then, is abhorrent to us in the West in the 21st century. "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20v3). No other gods before the Lord? Yes. That’s right. We are to choose the Lord. First. Every single time.

The fact is, there are options when it comes to worship. The Lord does not say there are no other gods. We read about principalities and powers throughout Scripture that are not portrayed as illusions. Yes, idols are made of wood, metal or stone, but the Israelites are told not to practise witchcraft or necromancy because those dark spiritual forces are real. In fact, in Exodus 22v18, Moses is told that sorcerers are to be put to death. The exclusivity that the Lord demands is protection against those other gods who enslave and deceive. Serve the Lord and you will be set free.

In this way, this first command is like a marriage vow. When I married my wife, I did not just promise to love her, but to "forsake all others" as long as I lived. I did not promise that I would only acknowledge the existence of one woman. My mother, my three sisters and my two daughters would not have been happy about that had I made such a promise. But my wife is my priority. Without the exclusivity of marriage, my wife and I will never have security, intimacy and true joy.

The idols continually tempt us. They make all kinds of promises, offering to meet an immediate perceived need or passion. We can run after money, power or sexual gratification, thinking that they will satisfy us. We could even consult a medium for clearer spiritual direction.

Liberating?

The fact is that being in charge of every aspect of your life sounds liberating. But it is a crushing burden. Go into a bookshop for guidance on life. You will probably find a shelf containing a Bible – and a bunch of books that tell you not to trust any version of the Bible. The rest of that section is self-help and productivity. Racks and racks. Rows and rows. They are piled high on the tables. There you go: choice. Choose your own self-actualisation.

These books promise that you can be whoever you want to be. These books will help you reach that destination faster. But who do you want to be? How do you decide? How do you even decide which book to buy? Whose advice do you follow?

When you abandon the first commandment and turn away from the exclusive, intimate relationship with the Lord, you don’t find freedom. You find loneliness, confusion and isolation. Our society has never offered more freedom and more choice. It has also never been lonelier and more confused.

Religion itself doesn’t solve this problem. Over the last few hundred years in the West, you have been able to construct your own religion that meets your preferences. You could become a Buddhist Quaker. Or a Neo-Wiccan who loves a good old-fashioned 1662 Prayer Book evensong. Even Professor Richard Dawkins, who worships science as the ultimate "good", loves to sing a hymn in a church.

In Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert issues the three commands in the title. She worked them out via travelling the world and selecting parts of culture and religion which resonate with her. They work for her. But she won’t tell you how to live. For example, she writes: "In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices."

What is she telling you to do? Nothing. She uses the word "maybe" twice. She doesn’t know. She’s sure about that.

Jesus: The way, the truth and the life

All of the above would probably agree that Jesus was a Good Thing. But that He can’t really have meant it when He said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14v6). It must be a bad translation.

No. Jesus, who was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, is serious about His exclusive claims. The Lord Jesus invites us to follow Him. And Him alone.

Andrew and Peter did exactly that. They left their nets and followed Him. We must forsake all others and do the same, making Jesus our first priority. If we do that, we will find freedom from the pain and confusion of idolatry. Let us follow Him because, as Jesus says in John 8v31–32, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."