No Manipulation

"As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Be careful that you do not let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. For in him all the fullness of God's nature dwells bodily, and in him you were made full, who is the head of all principality and power,...." Colossians 2:6-11 New Heart English Bible,publicdomainbibles.com 

 As we receive the encouragement here to live in Jesus the same way we began - simply by receiving His person. As we do that, we have received, potentially, all He has accomplished. Therefore, we overflow in thanksgiving.

Now the cautions, as a result of encouragement - "Be careful..." so our lives will not be impeded by our thoughts and intellect. "Be careful that you do not let anyone rob you through his philosophy (intellectual knowledge and pursuits) and vain (empty, useless) deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ." We know what most of this is talking about. We get impressed very easily with people who know more than we do. It ends up with us receiving their way of thinking and many times that is just empty deceit. Most people know more than we do, no matter who we are. So we all need to be aware of the emptiness of the intellect if it is not used in the gentleness and Holy Spirit breath of our Lord. Now desiring to know is not a bad thing, but it can lead us into many endeavors that are not good for us. To guard what we think and what we entertain in our minds is so very important as we live in our Lord Jesus. A healthy dose of scripture every day is a good way to stay immune to all man's thinking. Just sayin'....

Now on to "...after the elements of the world...." This could use some time of discovery to understand. It is a statement that covers much. Right now, we need to understand that it involves the human ways of working in relationships. One of those ways is the use of manipulation. This often is very subtle. When we have our minds on pleasing people - anyone - then we have laid down a run way for this to occur in us. Paul is clear about this in 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." The words, "not under compulsion" basically mean "do not be manipulated." The Lord wants our giving, as well as all we do in life, to flow from a "free heart," and not from pressure of any kind.

Manipulation comes in many forms, but as we are encouraged in the love of our Lord, we become able to shed the terrible tyranny of "people pleasing," and begin to be able to respond in love to all. I wish I could put into words how deeply important this is. We must not allow our lives to be controlled by the way others behave toward us nor by their emotions in any way. We must begin to allow the love of Jesus to be the way we live and think.