Freedom: a Fourth of July Post on the First

Americans talk a lot about freedom. It's one of those ideals that everybody--Christian and non-Christian, old and young, black and white--seems to recognize as a good thing. It's the trump card when debating moral issues, politics, and, really, anything--because everybody knows freedom is important. People literally are dying to be free.

But, as we get ready to celebrate our country's freedom by lighting a million bottle rockets and eating potatoes and pie until we similarly explode, it occurs to me how sadly unfree many of my fellow countrymen are.

Sure, we can use our own discretion in making the majority of our decisions. But, as a nation, we can't shake the bonds of credit card debt. We are slaves to food more than ever before. We bend and break under the pressures of work, childrearing, getting enough exercise, and keeping in touch with friends until we finally convince ourselves we need a vacation (or a medication) before we can stand one more minute of our own lives. Is this what we brag about when talking of our country's "privileges?" We're proud that--in our superior country--we are free to bury ourselves in excess and then take all the Prozak we want?

That's not true freedom.

But if living in a democratic-republic doesn't make one free automatically, then how do we liberate ourselves?

I just finished the book Saint by Ted Dekker. (It's really good, though you should read Sinner first.) And one of the over-arching themes of the story is the concept of truth. What is truth? How much can brainwashing affect ones belief in things which are NOT true? For instance, could someone be drugged and tortured until they forgot their own families? Faith in God? Their own names?

Then, in the final chapters of the book, the story's wise guru-type man repeatedly looks at the broken and confused protagonist--who has been lied to and manipulated for years--and he assures him: The truth will set you free.

Of course, the main character doesn't know what that means at first, but it made my heart swell. It's perfectly logical. Amazingly accurate. The most real and unshakable kind of freedom comes from knowing the truth.

Just as the lead character finds himself physically and emotionally exausted by all the deceit, many Americans are desperate for the truth. We are TIRED at the end of each day, and we think it's because the paperwork never ends, and our house is always dirty, and our kids don't behave...
But is that the truth? I don't think so, because God says truth will set me free. Whatever is wearing me down--holding me in chains--and making me want to run away must stem from something else. When I'm frustrated and overwhelmed and crawling on my hands and knees--it's because I'm being lied to.

If that's the case, then let's make the decision to take an honest look at what controls our existence, and then we can let the truth tell us how to fix it. One truth may be, "I'm irritated with my kids, which is okay. But how I handle my anger is the real source of my exaustion." (By the way, have you noticed that sin is tiring? That's why God offers us "rest" from our "burdens")
Maybe you need to hear the truth, "Service-minded people are happier than self-minded ones." OR "Laughter is the best medicine....not Prozak."

I don't care what you grab hold of, as long as you subscribe to a piece of truth today. It will set you free.

(P.S. Happy almost-fourth-of-July! Be thankful you live in a country which allows you to seek the truth, if you are brave enough.)