The Lie of Freedom

As there is much talk about rights in our culture, so there is much talk about freedom. How do we earn or experience it? What does it mean to fight for freedom? Can it endure? What freedoms are worth preserving? Do we even have freedom anymore?

In our world, freedom is thought to be earned or achieved in a variety of erroneous ways. By hiding. By pretending. By manipulating. By lying and deceiving. By striving. Tragically, many pursue freedom this way, blind to the sign that warns, “Dead End.” As a result, they find themselves painfully unsatisfied, groping about in a dark existential cul-de-sac.

What do we see in Scripture? To be free, go humble yourself (Prov. 6:3), for the one who conceals his sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces it finds mercy (Prov. 28:13). Go humbly to the one you have wronged, even if that’s just to God. Confess. Renounce. Give the offended every right. Listen to them and begin sowing new seed.

Misunderstanding freedom goes back to Adam and Eve. God told them, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.” Yet, that wasn’t enough for them. The boundaries God had erected were for their protection, but they chose their own understanding—and the serpent’s. Freedom wasn’t the problem; pride, self-reliance, and a lack of faith were.

As has been said before, why do we sin? It doesn’t make sense and never fulfills. We sin because it’s easy. And we love it.

Recently, I began crocheting a new shawl. After one line in the middle, it occurred to me that my number of stitches could be off and I should probably go back, count, and correct the error. But that would be too laborious. I stitched another row.

I knew that if I kept going, the problem would worsen. These things don’t self-correct, but it was easier to ignore. I stitched another row.

Looking back at my work, I tried to forget the problem. Perhaps in the final product no one would notice. However, after yet another row, I relented, stopped, and counted. I was off by one. I pulled out my rows and started again. This time, the stitches had been counted, and I could continue not having to question that my work could be in vain.

Anyone in their right mind, especially crocheters, would be right in asking why I didn’t just save myself the time and go back to avoid exacerbating the problem. The answer is that it’s the same reason we don’t do many right things: We believe the lie that it’s too hard, and we don’t want to.

Sin doesn’t make us irrational. We sin because we are irrational. Sin has skewed not just our spiritual loyalties but distorted and corrupted our reason. In Psalm 73:22, Asaph describes how when he rejected God, he became “brutish and ignorant... like a brute beast.” Jeremiah 50:38 describes Babylon as a land “mad over idols.” Appealing to His people in Isaiah 1:18, God invites them, “Come now, let us reason together.”

In this last passage, considering the context, reason appears to develop not as Judah looks within themselves or to their foreign gods but as they are “willing and obedient” (v. 19), as they repent. They become a reasonable people not as they seek the wisdom of the world but inasmuch as they acknowledge, fear, trust, and turn to God.

We are fallible human beings who are easily persuaded and cry out to be ruled. Because of this, one definition of freedom may be the opportunity to choose our own master. We have a buffet of agendas, leaders, lifestyles, and identities from which to choose. However, in only one Lord do we find the true law that gives freedom (Jas. 1:25, 2:12).

Perhaps it is worth noting that freedom, contrary to how we customarily think of it, is a means, not an end. Freedom by itself, without virtue and discipline, will be our ruin. We should want and fight for freedom, pursuing and defending it, not to “be ourselves” at the expense of others but so that we can accomplish something greater than ourselves.

Freedom is not an excuse for doing what we want and not caring about what others think or feel, nor is it an exemption from responsibility or consequences. Rather, it is being given the chance to choose whom we will serve—to choose whose kingdom we will build (1 Sam. 20:31)—because we are all ruled by something.

Let us learn from Jesus. He had every right in the world but used His freedom to live a humble life as a poor carpenter, die a criminal’s death, and come back to life. He used His freedom to sacrifice, to serve, and to save that which was lost. He taught that from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be required (Lk. 12:48). As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal. 5:13). You may have the right to do anything, but not everything is constructive (1 Cor. 10:23). Love must govern your liberty.

With responsibility comes freedom, and with freedom comes responsibility. My mother had a saying: A child who can’t be trusted must be watched. In the same way, as children show more integrity, they are given more freedom. Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. As one actor wisely observed, “Freedom without responsibility leads to evil. Responsibility without freedom leads to slavery. Communion of both is necessary.” Tragically and disturbingly, in our culture, we seem to think that with freedom comes no responsibility.

Freedom is not an excuse to love ourselves but the chance to love others. It is not justification for breaking the moral law but the responsibility to uphold it. Scottish preacher Peter Marshall said it best: “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” Not to do what we want but to do as we ought.

Any other master will abuse his power and authority. Choose Christ. Humble thyself. Confess. Renounce, reconcile, go back and count your stitches, and find freedom.