FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

•    “It’s a free country!”
•    “You can’t tell me to wear a mask or get vaccinated because I am free”
•    “My body my choice”

When these statements are sprayed over the media every day; what do you hear?  Some hear a justification for whatever platform they are clinging to, ingrained by generations of American cultural rhetoric.

What I hear is “I will do what I want, and I don’t care what it costs you.” A declaration of utter selfishness.  The free-country line was a favorite among the bullies at school.  It is profoundly disturbing when it passes the lips of Christians because it is the antithesis of Christ’s teaching.  But wait – freedom is a Christian concept – right?  Indeed it is. But not in the way it is being used here.

If the USA is truly a “free country”:

• Why do we have more lawyers per person than any other country on the planet (except one)?
• Why do we have a whole city dedicated to writing laws (~30,000 statutes and counting)?
• Will you enjoy it when I come party outside your home at three in the morning because I am free?
• There is a guy in our city who carries a banner saying “Why can’t I go naked?”  Indeed – if it is a free country – why can’t he?

Our lives are minutely regulated by a plethora of laws from federal, state, county, city, and even neighborhood authorities.  As someone who has lived in three other countries, it was a large part of the cultural shock to find how many rules and regulations proscribe American life.  The dissonance between “freedom” and “micro-legislation” is jarring.

Am I advocating for anarchy?  Not at all.  Laws are essential for the good order of society.  So what about freedom? Freedom may be considered as being able to do the things that are acceptable or desirable.  Therein is the crux, defining those things.  That is what we are really bickering about in, and in front of, capitols worldwide.

What about that biblical freedom?  I did a search of the word in scripture, and the message is resoundingly consistent. Biblical freedom is the power to walk away from self and sin; freedom from our fallen nature, rather than indulging it.  Therefore, we relinquish our rights for the benefit of others, even those others that threaten us.  We love, regardless of the cost.  We protect others and we provide for the needs of others, even if it means risking our comfort, security or 401Ks. It most definitely does not mean we can do what we feel like at the expense of others.

Scripture has to supersede cultural traditions if we are to honestly bear the label “Christian”.

Isaiah 58:6, John 8:33, Romans 6:7, Romans 6:18, Romans 6:22, Romans 8:2, Romans 8:21, 1 Corinthians 9:19, Galatians 5:1, 1 Peter 2:16