I’ve been doing my best lately to take off my modern church culture glasses when reading the Bible, and to read larger sections at a sitting, or at least remind myself of the context of the book or passage I’m reading so I can better understand what the author was trying to say. It’s way too easy to take verses or even whole passages out of context, or to interpret them the same way I always have without letting the Holy Spirit have room to breathe new meaning into them.

My last reading of Galatians was like that. The entire book is about the freedom we have as believers. Because of Jesus, we are not under law anymore, and therefore we do not have need to follow the law. Paul spends the first 4 chapters talking about those who were pushing the requirements of the law on believers and the slavery that results from trying to live and be justified by the law. Then Chapter 5 begins with, “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.” (NIV)

What a dangerous book! Christians are to throw off the law and have the freedom to do whatever they want!? That does seem to be the gist, and yet it stands in stark contrast to the modern church, where doing the right thing—following the rules—seems to be the focus. Just do what the Bible says, and you’ll be fine.

Take the fruits of the Spirit in Chapter 5 for example. How many times have you heard a sermon reference that passage, pointing to specific behaviors to either stop or emulate: Here’s a list of the fruits of the flesh. If you’re doing those, you need to stop it. There is a list of the fruits of the Spirit. If you’re not doing those, then you need to work on doing them better.

That focus misses the whole point of the book and, ironically, does absolutely nothing to effectively change behavior.

The key is in verses 16 and 25. Paul says that our real focus must be on being filled with the Spirit, which is what prunes the destructive behavior and produces the fruit. You can’t change the fruit without dealing with the root. While he says not to indulge the flesh, he does not provide the list of behaviors or fruits as a list of rules, as if trying harder makes one a better Christian. That would be completely contrary to the first four chapters.

Paul is saying that if you live your life walking with the Spirit, you have the freedom to do anything you want. The rules don’t apply. In fact, he says that those that push rules of behavior are merely trying to impress people with their “holiness” (6:12-13), not be in relationship with God. That kind of church produces fake Christians.

That’s a hard teaching. It’s so much easier to dictate behavior and pass judgement on easily discernable, outward actions. How can we trust anyone to be free to do anything they want?

The key to all behavior is in the root—the motivation behind it. Every destructive behavior is a bastardized attempt to satisfy a legitimate need: lashing out angrily at others may be motivated by a need for security or to feel meaningful; pornography is an attempt to meet a need for intimacy and connection; substance addiction seeks to remedy pain or trauma rather than heal the wound. Those examples are incomplete and far more complex than I am making them out to be here, but that’s the point. There’s always something behind the behavior, but to discover the motivation takes time, understanding and real relationship. When we fail to take the time to look beneath the surface to address that real need, and instead merely dictate actions, we fail to understand what need is not getting met and to help that person find a healthy way to meet it. The result is that we end up with churches full of fake Christians who hide their destructive behaviors from each other for fear of having their outward actions judged.

People who engage in destructive behaviors do not need to be told that their behavior is wrong. They’re usually aware of the damage it causes, even when they deny it. Shaming them with what they “should” do (outward behavior) is not helpful. Shame has never motivated change; on the contrary, it tends to deepen the pain and fuel more destructive behavior. Ask any addict.

In contrast, when we lovingly and patiently dig into those behaviors to uncover the real needs and help each other meet those in a healthy way, the destructive behavior lessens. That’s what Jesus modeled in the Gospels, and that’s what He does for us now through the Holy Spirit. My desire for pornography vanished when I met my need for deep intimacy, authenticity and secure attachment in a healthy marriage. Consider again the freedom Paul talks about in Galatians. When we are willing to look deeply and honestly at the root of our behaviors and begin to meet our needs in healthy ways, the way the Spirit leads, we will not be able to produce destructive fruit. Therefore, the law is no longer needed to judge our behavior and we are free to do whatever we want.