True Freedom

Some people think freedom is the right to do whatever they want. They have the right to say whatever they think, do whatever they feel like doing, mutilate their bodies however they desire, allow into their minds whatever they find entertaining, and go wherever they think they will have a good time. The news of shocking rapes, murder, embezzlement is continuously making the headlines in our nation and worldwide. It is sad to know how the freedom is misused and misinterpreted.

Freedom means something different. It is the ability to say 'no' when 'yes' is easier and more convenient. If you do not have the power to say 'no' and to follow through with the corresponding action, you are not free but bound. Being able to say 'no' to wrong and inappropriate things means you can say 'yes' to right and appropriate things. This is freedom. People who are bound are stuck doing the wrong things when they want to do right.

Let’s not forget that we have a soul and a spirit governed by spiritual laws and not natural ones. If you cannot say 'no' to an emotion, relationship, behavior, or the like, you are not free but bound. The Bible talks about the struggle of mankind in this way, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. . . . For I know that nothing good dwells in me . . . for the willing [to live right] is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”.

Anyone who has been trapped in a cycle of unwanted behavior can identify with this passage. We dismiss our errant tendencies by saying, “I’m only human,” as if being human means we cannot overcome our weaknesses. You are created in the image and likeness of God. He did not create you to go through life flawed but fabulous. Ask God for help to give you the freedom to say “no” to evil and influence people to do good.

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