I used to play tether ball when I was young
The motions were somewhat like volleyball,
but not the same freedom
Then again, it is you against the other player,
nobody else was involved
The ball was stuck on the rope, restricted
Couldn’t go anywhere but around the pole
whoever got the ball around the pole in their direction
however many times it took,
was declared the winner
Being tethered to something would not be good
It happens
It happens in life
With people
With things
With money
Even with spiritual things,
teachings, teachers, revelations, doctrines
All of these can be fine to have in our lives,
but they can also be confining if we let them
or give them too much credence
We want to be free in the Holy Spirit
To follow Him
To listen to Him
To do what He asks us to do,
to go where He sends us
We do not want to be restricted or tethered
to anyone or anything
The term “Hold things loosely” applies here
because it is not healthy to have anything in our power,
Even children, our goal is to teach them to think for themselves,
teach them to make good decisions,
Tethering is not the same as teaching or guiding,
nor is it the same as loving or caring for someone
it is forced, confined
Jesus taught us and guided us,
but He did not force us
It is also true that we don’t want to be within anyone else’s power,
willingly to be dedicated to Jesus alone
“And as Jesus passed forth from thence,
he saw a man, named Matthew,
sitting at the receipt of custom:
and he saith unto him, Follow me.
And he arose, and followed him.” Matthew 9:9
Jesus does not tether us
He tells us to follow Him,
but it is always our choice
We have freedom to walk away
We are not His ball and chain nor does He want to be ours
“And when they had brought their ships to land,
they forsook all,
and followed him.” Luke 5:11
How do we keep ourselves so that we are freely walking with Him?
There are some answers I can think of on that
That is also something that nobody can tell you,
you have to find out for yourself from Christ directly
That comes from getting to know Him,
spending time with Him,
learning about Him in His word,
in prayer,
in doing what He asks or prompts you to do
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” James 4:8a
Like anything in life, practice makes perfect
Try and let Him teach you
Do all the things you know to do
and He will tech you more
as you go along on your journey through this life
“The Lord is near unto all them that call upon him,
to all that call upon him in truth.” Psalm 145:18