During the recent World Cup, some of the funniest videos online weren’t from the matches themselves. They were clips of Europeans visiting American supermarkets for the first time. Many simply stood in the cereal aisle in disbelief. Shelf after shelf of choices!

It seems we love having options. Whether it’s cereal, clothes, restaurants or streaming services, more choice usually feels like a good thing.

That is why the opening command of the Ten Commandments can sound so surprising: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

It’s very exclusive. When it comes to God, there is no choice.

At first, that can sound restrictive. But the key is found in the verses that come just before the commandments. God reminds his people: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Before God tells his people how to live, he reminds them that he has already rescued them. These commandments are not given to enslave God’s people but to help them live in the freedom he has already won for them.

When Good Things Become False Gods

God knows that whatever we place at the centre of our lives, whatever we give the highest place, will eventually rule us.

Money, success, popularity, appearance and relationships are all good gifts, but they make terrible gods. When they become the most important thing in our lives, they begin to control us. Instead of bringing freedom, they leave us anxious, dissatisfied and constantly wanting more.

They promise freedom, but they only bind us up.

Freedom from What Controls Us

Jesus describes this problem by saying that we become slaves to sin. Yet he also gives us a wonderful promise: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

True freedom is not found in doing whatever we want. It is found in being released from the things that control us and keep us from living as God intended.

It reminds me of the playground game stuck in the mud. Once you’re tagged, you can’t move. You need someone else to come and free you. They have to leave the safety of where they are, go down into the dirt, and help you escape.

That’s what Jesus has done.

The One Who Sets Us Free

Jesus stepped into our world and took our place through his death and resurrection. He came low to set us free from the sin that enslaves us.

Because of him, we are free to know God, free to belong to his family, and free to worship the One who truly gives life.

Real freedom isn’t found in having endless choices. It is found in belonging to the One who sets us free. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).