Liberty?

While working on this blog, a riot broke out in Atlanta over an act of a hatred that is out of control. I do not condone racism, which is a door that swings both ways; it doesn’t justify rioting, which isn’t freedom of speech—but further violence, that’s about it.

Growing up as an Army brat I experienced different cultures, those experiences that taught me how to treasure our differences, to understand they are opportunities to learn from each other.

When my family settled in the South, I didn’t fit in because my experiences were different. In college I was again treated to snapshots of different cultures: East Indian, Jamaican, Caribbean and European.

On one occasion I witnessed the hatred between a group of Muslims towards my Hindu best friend, all because he danced with a Muslim girl at a party in Atlanta. America has always been a melting pot of culture, things only melt when things get hot and as racial tensions increase around the world, we will see more conflict. In a way these growing pains are good; although many tend to abuse their liberties.

Liberty?

When I was a kid my father used to say, “Give people an inch and they take a mile.” I guess I was kind of a bad little boy; it is human nature (sin) to take advantage of our liberties.

The dictionary defines liberty as, “The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.” Herein lies the problem of liberty, it is both good and bad—you can feel it in your heart.

When we abuse our freedoms, we infringe on the freedoms of others. This is why we must learn to respect and understand our differences. But, the real problem is much deeper than social, political or economic statuses.

The real problem is we are sinful; it’s that sinfulness that leads to selfishness. And when we’re selfish, we become slaves to ourselves—no longer free (Isaiah 58:6, Romans 7:15.)

In Christ, we’ve been set free (Galatians 5:1.) I know I am free (John 8:36.) But not to use my freedom for however I choose. We are free from our wild sinful nature, but not from God.

We are free to express our opinions, but we don’t define what is right or wrong—only God does that. To know what is right or wrong, study God’s Word, but not for the sake of being right, but saved for the sake of knowing God.

The purpose of knowing is doing, I’ve learned that just because a person says all the right things doesn’t mean they are a Christian. The simple truth is a lot of professing Christians simply do not understand what it means to surrender to God.

They just don’t want to give up their desires, yet forfeit their rights to the kingdom of God. We don’t have the freedom to do as we please like the wild things we are.

Freedom?

Jesus set us free from this world’s cares. Andrew Murray cautions, “Then there is the tongue! Just think what liberty many Christians give to their tongues. They say that they have a right to think and say what they like: and when they speak about each other, when they speak about their neighbors, when they speak about other Christians, how often there are sharp and cruel remarks!”

Americans we pride themselves in their freedom of speech, but there is a catch 22. Freedom is an entitlement to everyone based on the 1st amendment; unless of course we don’t like it or agree with it, then it’s an infringement on others’ rights.

I think that last part is in the Constitution, it seems most Americans believe that and it is beyond me. When freedom works against us or isn’t ideal for our lives, that is considered hatred, someone hit the cray button.

Take for example wearing facemasks during this critical time in history, nobody likes wearing them; but we are all called to do our part to help end the spread of this virus. Sure you have a right not to wear one, but nobody has a right to risk the health of others, that is selfishness.

America was built on the sacrifices of our forefathers: white, black, brown and tan. To think we no longer need to make sacrifices because we’re free is unAmerican.

The beauty of America is we are all different, we haven’t always agreed, yet there has never been division like there is today.

The problem is we’ve been fed the lie of only “feel good” and “positive” garbage and if what we hear goes against that, we feel our freedoms are at risk. I know this is going to make me sound like a bad guy, but this no negativity only positive garbage makes me sick to my stomach, it is just Dum Dum. The psalmist declared we can trust wounds from a friend (Psalm 27:6,) that is how we let love lead.

If a person only wants to hear what they want, then they are self-centered and immature, God made all of us different for a reason. The analogy of the church the Apostle Paul gives is a great picture of how we use our differences together for good (1 Corinthians 12:4-12,) even the tongues of Angels which is for the lost, not the church.

Recently I had a discussion with a fellow Christian writer who was bothered by our differences. They even went as far to ask me not to comment on social media, unless of course it was “positive.” This is why American Christianity isn’t biblical; it has become consumer Christianity at best.

The Christian life isn’t a permanent vacation, no, Jesus promised we would face troubles in this world (John 16:13.) As Christians, we don’t wobble—we can’t pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want to believe, we don’t have that liberty.