The plumbline
God provides the foundation, we choose how and what we build on it, good or bad. Another way to say it is the Word of God is the plumbline you can choose to use it and build straight or not. The solidity of what we build is then tested when trials come and either stands or collapses. The foundation is unmovable, what we build however is either finite or eternal.
Laws are unforgiving and absolute. In Christianity, God has made space for us to fail, get back up and keep going, it’s called Grace. Ultimately, God prefers mercy to judgement because ultimately, He is first and foremost a loving Father. While this is never a license to sin, it does give us breathing space and a sense of security as any child has with a loving father.
Religion disempowers us
Religion ultimately disempowers us because the demands of perfectionism are unattainable and lead to trying to control everything to conform to laws that are impossible to follow. We strive to achieve a goal that moves ever further away from us because as humans we are quite simply incapable of perfection, excellence yes, but not perfection.
Love empowers us
Love empowers us by placing us on a firm foundation of complete freedom and saying “go on, try something, anything you like” it gives us advice on what is best for us and the best way to build. But the choice is ours, God wants us to excel in everything we choose to do, He never wants to restrain us from using the talents He’s given us to the fullest extent. He advises us to stay away from sin for our own sake, not for His.
Christ came to earth and deliberately humbled himself, submitting himself to be trodden down under the foot of death so that he could become the foundation of life for every man.