13 O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.

23 Now the high priest’s name was Giddonah. And Korihor said unto him: Because I do not teach the foolish traditions of your fathers, and because I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down according to thy words.
Korihor’s attitude is one that non-believers and skeptics frequently adopt. They see faith in Christ and membership in his church as a burden and a yoke. And they see teachings about morality and commandments as a source of ignorance and something that causes ones head to hang down in shame. 

Of course, religion has had that impact on individuals at times. But my lived experience as a follower of Christ cannot be more different than the portrait of servitude and ignorance portrayed by Korihor.
For me faith in Christ has been anything but a burden. As he said, his burden truly is easy and his yolk light. Knowledge of his atonement and the attendant promises of redemption and eternal life is liberating and freeing rather than stifling.

And I feel that I have gained more meaningful knowledge through learning by the spirit than I ever could relying on my own intellect. The knowledge of eternity is a subject completely foreclosed to those who do not believe.

I am a disciple of Christ because he  has liberated my chains of bondage. It is only with him that u can be free. The chains of sin, misery and death need not bind me. Guilt and uncertainty need not keep me down. Thanks to Christ I truly am made free. Those like Korihor who shut themselves off from Christ sacrifice true joy for a mess of pottage.



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