Are We Truly Free?

Are we truly free? We live in a free country. At least that’s what we are told… For all intents and purposes here, let‘s say that we do live in a free country so we don't go off on a political tangent. If we live in a free country what defines that? What makes our country “free”? Does it cost nothing to live here? Of course it costs something. Do we get to go anywhere, any time? That could be trespassing. Can we do anything that we want? Not if what we want to do causes harm to another person or breaks the law. So then are we actually free? We are not slaves.

If someone told you that you would be granted absolute freedom what would that mean to you? It makes me think that I could do anything that I want. That’s actually quite scary! If we could all do anything that we want, there just might not be any of us left! We all know full well that we can not just go out and murder someone (to use an extreme, but most easily agreed upon example) without there being a consequence. Even if there was no consequence by our fellow man, then we would still face an internal consequence. Thus revealing that we are a slave to something or someone no matter what we would prefer to believe. We are either a slave to the laws and boundaries set by man or our internal “moral law.” Most people get defensive by my last statement that we are all slaves to something. Slavery would be thought of as the opposite of freedom.

So does this mean that freedom is a myth and we can not ever truly experience what the word makes us think of or feel? Freedom does not literally mean “eliminating all boundaries,” rather, it means “choosing the right boundaries.” Boundaries, in and of themselves, are not bad, yet for some reason our natural man wants so desperately to be the master of our own life, that we don’t want anyone or anything to tell us what we can and can’t do. I believe this is one very huge reason why many people choose not to be religious.

It is common knowledge that, when one follows a religion, they are expected to suddenly conform to the ways and obey the rules of that religion. If they come up short, then they are left feeling as if they have failed and probably that feeling of failure will lead next to guilt. I don’t know about you, but for me that sounds like a terrible thing to choose. You would then become a slave to that religion wouldn’t you? My pastor spoke about this recently. He said, “Religion is a tragedy because it makes us think we can free ourselves, when the Bible clearly shows that we can’t.” (click for full sermon)

Since we are inevitably slaves to something, what should we choose to be slaves to? Didn’t Jesus even say “the truth shall make you free”? Wouldn’t this imply that freedom could actually exist? Author Christopher Ash explains, “…from a closed slavery to an open slavery, from a slavery that leads to death, into a slavery that leads to life.” That is much like what we would think of as Americans to be freed from slavery. From complete bondage to freedom. From oppression to the right boundaries. We can choose to be slaves to ourselves and this world, which have a limited capacity for growth, or “slaves” to a God who loves and cares so much that He promises not only life, but life abundantly. Not only this life, but an eternal one. Just to clarify, I’m not talking about religion, but relationship.

I leave you with this challenge: Are you truly free? If you are a slave to something or someone? What or who is it? What does being a slave to that thing or one produce? Death? Or life? John 8:34-36