A Path to Freedom

COMMENT SUMMARY:  My thanks and gratitude to those who sent their comments about freedom.  They contributed that our freedoms are precious and that we would not want to live in a country that wasn’t free.  We are all lucky to live in the U.S.A.  The importance of passing on an understanding of our freedoms to the next generation was emphasized.

MY COMMENTS:  Freedom is the ability to think, feel, do, and become what you want to if you are able to.  In America, those who founded our country spoke of freedom often and forcefully:

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! (Patrick Henry)

A man who will not die for freedom deserves neither life nor freedom. (Benjamin Franklin)

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The Declaration of Independence states that the rights of mankind are God given, and the Bill of Rights provides protection for the freedoms enjoyed by American citizens.  In order to prevent people from taking away the freedom of others, Americans elect representatives who establish laws and administer the government according to those laws.  At least, that is how things are supposed to work.

Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves. (Ronald Reagan)

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The Swiss have a saying, and I will try to do it justice.  However, I am doing this from memory, so cut me a little slack.  The saying goes:

“Ich bin ein freier Schweizer, und ich tun und lassen, was ich will.”

Loosely translated it means:

“I am a free Swiss, and I do and allow what I please.”

However, laws and cultural norms limit what we are allowed to do, in order that we may have the benefits that come from living in an organized and interdependent society.  In some countries, cultural norms exert stronger influences on what people do than in others.  Likewise, the degree to which freedom is limited by the government varies greatly around the world.  In theory, nobody can make us do anything.  In fact, they can make us pay if we don’t.  Our bodies and the natural world around us also limit our freedom.  You can’t go naked in a blizzard.

Further, we voluntarily limit our freedom in order to maintain interpersonal relationships.  We surrender some of our autonomy in order to stay married, keep our friends, maintain employment, and retain employees. The maintenance of relationships, then, requires some degree of accommodation.

How much freedom are we willing to give up to survive, and what do we do when we hit the limit of what we are willing to give up?  What happens when you have to choose between your freedom and giving up a friend or a spouse?  What will you do when some terrorist puts a gun to your head because he or she doesn’t like your religion?  I stand in awe of the students in Africa and Oregon who said they were Christians knowing they would be killed for it.  God has given us free will, and we can be as free as we choose to be; or dare to be.

If we are to avoid anarchy and lawlessness, we must accept that with freedom comes the responsibility to choose to in ways that do not harm others or violate their rights.  Alfred Adler spoke of developing a sense of social responsibility, and believed it was part of the healthy adult personality.  The study of ethics tells us that our first responsibility is to do no harm.

Unfortunately, it seems that today more and more people recognize no moral authority greater than the self, and we also have to deal with terrorists, tyrants, and other criminals.  As a result, we have to decide as individuals, and as a society how much freedom we are willing to part with in order to be reasonably free from harm.

All I can say from the human standpoint is that, when in doubt, we should go back to the basics.  We must insist on our constitutional rights.  We benefit from living in a nation where the people freely elect those who make the laws. Therefore, we are obligated to obey the law; unless it conflicts with the laws of God or violates our constitutional rights. I do not advocate violent rebellion.  Today, the police and military are well trained and equipped.  Unless the private citizen is equally well trained and equipped, the private citizen will not prevail in an armed conflict with the authorities.  Do not, however, obey unconstitutional laws and regulations or disobey God to please men.  Practice peaceful civil disobedience.

In our personal relationships, it is better to be on good terms with those you interact with, so be flexible. However, we should not accommodate others to the point that we lose our self-respect.  Jesus told us to love others more than ourselves and to treat them the way we would like to be treated.  That is very difficult in our own strength, but with God all things are possible.  Jesus recognized that there would be times when we would need to defend ourselves. So, He also told us to sell our coat and buy a sword if we do not have one.  We have the right to defend against those who attack us or try to harm others.

There is a freedom that we can have which takes precedence over the cares and limitations associated with the freedom we have in this world.  It is the freedom we have when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior.  Before we are saved, we are enslaved by a host of rules that neither I, nor anybody else can keep.  No matter what your background, there are things that we know are wrong.  Yet, we continue to do them.  We fall short of the person that we somehow know that we need to be.  We do it to gain acceptance or status from friends, to get some kind of material gain … or simply because we get a kick out of it.  Regardless of the motive, we can’t make ourselves stop. No matter how much we try to stop in our own strength, we find a way to mess up somehow … because we want to gratify our appetites; our lust, greed, pride, vengeance, and anger.

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us.  If we surrender to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, He takes away our desire to gratify our old sinful nature.  He gives us a new nature that wants to turn away from our old way of living and to please God.  As long as we are in this world, we are still going to have to contend with sin, but we no longer crave it above the fellowship we now have with God.  If we sin we regret it, and we are unhappy, but praise the Lord, that if we confess our sins He forgives us and restore us to full fellowship with Him.

Everything we do serves a purpose.  What we think or feel, say and do results in good or evil.  When we accept Jesus as our savior, we are given the ability to serve Him through the power and the leading of the Holy Spirit. As we grow in Grace, we become more and more like Him.  We continue to be sanctified until we are called from this life to be with Him.  This is the gospel.  It is the good news that brings joy.  It is true freedom … from slavery to sin and death.