Soul Ties

Soul Ties

An old woman sits in a travel trailer nestled in a stand of pine trees, a guard against thieves. The cold November wind whistles through the stand of pines. She is there because of soul ties...

Her daughters begged her to come home to her nice, warm home in the south, but she dug in her heels and refused to be budged. Her daughters loved her more than the land. Her daughters were not loved more than the land. The daughters have known this for a very long time. Hearts are broken when love of possessions exceeds the love of family.

Last winter, thieves broke into the old family homestead. The drafty old farm house and the property have been in her family for more than 200 years. The house contains her "treasures". She is the guard. She is determined that she will prevent further loss. Then there was fire… Fire has no regard for life or possessions. The losers are her family.

We learn from the Book of Ecclesiastes that life is all vanity…

As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a severe evil – just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? All his days he also eats in darkness, and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. Ecclesiastes 5:15-17

Soul ties….those things we hang on to, those things we treasure, those things that master over all others……They are JUST THINGS…

Soul ties are not always bad. I have a soul tie to my Bible. My Bible is worn. Pages have fallen out. Most pages are scribbled with notes. I bought a new Bible in 2004. I tried to use it. I put it back in its box – brand new like the day I bought it. I thought maybe it was because it was NIV and my old Bible is NKJV. The many notes in my old Bible have become a distraction from the Words of God. Last year, I bought a new NKJV Bible from the same publisher – Nelson. I thought that would work. I have used it only a little more than my NIV. It sits here – practically new – unused as I caress the pages of my old worn out Bible and try to ignore the scribbles. I don't think this is a bad soul tie. I certainly would not allow myself to lose my life over it. If my house were on fire and if I could grab it as I go, I would take it. I would not risk my life for it. I do not love it more than family. There is the difference…..

I am no different from other people who have tokens of remembrance from loved ones both here and gone. They do not rule my life. In an emergency, I would grab my Bible before exiting my home. I would not bother with the THINGS. I know myself…I know this…

The old farm house still stands straight and tall. The foundation is shifting again. It needs more repairs. It has become a soul tie for other family members – I know not why. It drew the life out of their Mother/Grandmother. The danger is there. The evil is there. The property survives to claim another generation who will work and toil for it…for what? It is a money pit and it will consume all who value it more than life…more than family. It is a THING. It has no value except as a soul tie that consumes. It divides…it destroys.

A burned shell of a travel trailer sits behind the house in the stand of pine trees. It is a reminder of the terrible cost of soul ties.

Jesus spoke of soul ties in Luke 12:13-34. I hope each reader will read this portion of God's Word as it is long to add here. I will, however, quote a portion…

Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Luke 12:13-15

Jesus followed with a parable of a rich man, then instruction to His disciples about simplicity of trusting God over soul ties, culminating in the following verses…

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:32-34

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus instructs us to put God first. He said "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Soul ties shattered a family, and then divided a family. Soul ties bind us to the world. To loosen those ties and let them go is freedom. Can you not see?