Life / Religion / Philosophy / Science / Polictics

Tag: Free

  • So, You Want to Be Free?

    Remember when Queen told us this (and yes, this is the official music video – just so you know what they wanted to break free from):

    The song, released on April 2nd, 1984 (missing April Fool’s Day by one day, in a rather ironic twist) tells us they want to break free as if they are being held prisoner against their will or are somehow enslaved. The subtle undertones of the music video imply that there is a social or cultural slavery going on (even if not found in the words of the song). And this cultural slavery is keeping them down, oppressing them somehow, and they just need to break free of the chains that bind them so that they may finally be happy.

    What about these freedom fighters in Canada? Do truck drivers who believe they are being oppressed by their government deserve to be free? At what point do laws, mandates, and government leaders actually become oppressors, eventually prompting people to want to break free?

    Remember the riots in Seattle, Washington just two years ago? We were told these people were free to protest and express their views. Even though the looting and rioting certainly seemed threatening to the freedoms of peaceful business owners and families living in the area.

    And we should not forget that we are told that freedom is not free:

    The world exists today, full of people, who have never experienced a day of slavery in their lives, and yet they constantly enslave themselves. They enslave themselves to the culture, to others around them, to perceived threats to their way of life, to governments, to employers, to drugs and other addictions, and even to religions. Most of all though, the world is full of people enslaved to lies that they do not recognize as lies, or even where those lies come from. And all of us just want to be free.

    The real irony of it all is that one person’s freedom is another person’s slavery. There is always a master and a slave. After all, that is how one becomes enslaved in the first place, by being ruled by the master. If drugs are your master, then drugs will rule your life and rob you of your freedoms. And far be it for me to be judgmental here. Jesus did not come into this world to condemn the world (John 3:17), and I have no place passing out condemnation either. I am still chief amongst sinners here and I need the Salvation of the Lord more than anyone else. But that does not change the Truth. Truth still stands and there is still light and dark in the world, and we all need to be aware of that. Sometimes we all feel a little condemned by the Truth and that causes us to embrace the chains that enslave us. No matter what those chains are.

    We all want to be free of something. To the point even of arguing who is the greater of the oppressed. Consider the Black Lives Matter movement. Does God consider the worth of one life over another? Of course, He does not. When people argue that black lives should receive a special pass because they have somehow experienced a greater degree of discrimination or oppression, they are simply putting themselves at the forefront. It becomes all about them. And when life become all about you … it is not all about God. The sheer craziness of these movement is that they enslave themselves. Christians are oppressed all over the world and all the time. Yet there is no Christian Lives Matter movement (and I sincerely hope there never will be). Why? Simply because Christians are not enslaved to their oppressors. And they do not bring any attention to their oppressors because to do so would be to take away from their freedom.

    You may be an African American today supporting Black Lives Matter. You may be a supporter of abortion (and the, so called, rights thereof). You may be an anarchist decrying the government. You may even be a Christian (or just a theist) and just feel like the whole world is against you. You believe (perhaps without recognizing it) that you are enslaved by the world. You are oppressed. It is discrimination, or threats to your perceived rights, or the government, or others that are taking away your freedoms and keeping you down. And so, we all reach a breaking point where we just want to break free (pun intended). But in doing so we put ourselves at the center of attention, and we (by necessity) put down everyone else. After all, Black Lives Matter could never ever allow ‘White Lives Matter’, or “Asian Lives Matter’, or ‘Jewish Lives Matter’, or ‘Hispanic Lives Matter’, or …. Because to do so would detract from them and would dilute the attention that they believe they so richly deserve (because they are enslaved and no one else – or at the very least, they are enslaved with the heaviest chains).

    So why is it that we all feel enslaved by something, even if it is just a tiny little annoyance? Why is it we all feel the weight of the chains to the point we want to cry out that we just want to be free?

    I believe the answer to this lies in the understanding of just who it is that enslaves us and who it is that sets us free. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 tells us that Satan has taken us captive at his will. But John 8:35-36 tells us that Jesus is the one who can set us free.

    And when Jesus sets us free, we are told that we are free indeed. Meaning we are truly and completely free. And when Christ has made us free, we need not be oppressed by the bondage in this world (Galatians 5:1). We can put off the yoke of bondage that is keeping us down (whatever that is) and be free indeed.

    Freedom is a person. And that person is Jesus Christ. And freedom is free. It is His free gift to you. But my freedom does not serve myself. My freedom is nothing more than a vessel to serve Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:10-11 tells us that in Christ there is no bond nor free, no Greek or Jew. But rather Christ is all in all.

    When your freedom is all about the Glory of God and uplifting Jesus Christ for all the world to see, then you are truly, and completely free. Do you want to be free today? You need look no further than the person of Jesus Christ.

  • Are You Living on the Other Side of the BUT …?

    Three friends of mine, whom I’ve mentioned in the past, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, found themselves facing quite a predicament one afternoon.  They faced a situation where they could do what God had said to do, or they could do what man had said to do.  But they couldn’t do both.

    Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that God had commanded them to have no other gods before Him.  They knew they could not bow down to idols or graven images.  They knew the word of the Lord (Exodus 20:1-6).

    Unfortunately for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego King Nebuchadnezzar had commanded that they do exactly what the word of the Lord told them not to do (Daniel 3:4-6).  And the King’s commandment carried quite a heavy weight along with it.  Anyone who violated the commandment would be thrown into a burning firey furnace.

    And thus their predicament.  If they did what King Nebuchadnezzar had commanded they do, they would end up violating what God had commanded they do.  And if they did what God had commanded they do, they would end up violating what King Nebuchadnezzar had commanded they do.  But they couldn’t do both.  They had to please one and risk angering the other.  They had to make a difficult choice.

    Interestingly enough, I believe every person in the world today faces the exact same choice as my three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We all have an impossible choice to make.  We may either bow down and serve the images of the world, or we may serve God.  But we can’t do both.  We must choose one or the other.

    And our choices have consequences attached to them.  Dire ones.  Severe ones.  Serious ones.  Literally as scary and fatal as being thrown into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.  We are talking life threatening endangerment here accompanied with violent pain and torture.

    If we examine our choices in light of our three base world views, we begin to unravel what drives us within our lives.

    The Atheist has no problem whatsoever bowing down to the King’s idol.  It is a mode of self-preservation.  Which is disingenuous in and of itself.  Because if you are Atheistic in your world view you have no belief in any God.  So why would you be inventing one and serving one?  The Atheist has no reason to be motivated by their own self-preservation to the extent of violating their own personal beliefs, they simply set their World View aside and in the interest of continuing their life journey, they bow down.

    The Agnostic is completely indifferent to bowing down to the King’s idol.  The Agnostic most likely wants to hedge their bets.  But in situations like this, they cannot.  The Agnostic lives in real confusion at times.  They would like to please both God and man, just in case one or the other happens to come true and they find themselves facing consequences they cannot deal with.  Unfortunately for the Agnostic, there are some questions in life that require a real choice and a single action.  You must choose one or the other.  You cannot choose both, and you will face consequences for your actions whether you want to or not.  In most cases the Agnostic will join their Atheist friends and bow down to the golden image and worship it in the interest of self-preservation.

    For the Theist however, the choice becomes a lot more granular.  Unlike their Atheist and Agnostic neighbors, the Theist actually believes both choices to be solid and real.  The commandments of their God are true and define the core of their beliefs.  The Theist really must stand on the principles of their world view if they are to be true to themselves, and that means they must accept the consequences of violating the commandments of the King.

    The Theist, especially Christians, have an out though, right?  After all, the Theist serves a God that can deliver them for any consequences of man.  And yet, 99.999% of all the people in the world today choose to bow down to the King’s idols.  Why?  It makes sense with the Atheists and the Agnostics, but why do the Theists, for the most part, give in and bow down?  Especially when they supposedly believe that their God can save them?

    My friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the very small minority in their answer to the King.  Here is what they said:

    “16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”  Daniel 3:16-18 KJV

    Most Christians familiar with the story of my three friends shout triumphantly and proclaim victory through God’s hands.  Yet the evidence remains, that the majority of people bow down and worship the idols.  Why is that?  Why do Theist Christians so adamantly believe that God can save them yet they go ahead and bow down?

    I believe it is because the vast majority of us do not live beyond the BUT.  Do you see it there?  The BUT at the beginning of verse 18.  You see, it is very easy to proclaim that God has the power to save, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to go beyond that.  They were willing to say BUT “if not“.  If God chooses NOT to save us, then we still will not bow down.  Because God is still God.

    Here is the bottom line: you cannot truly be free until you are willing to live beyond the BUT.  It is easy to stand and proclaim that God has the power to save, but it is hard to say I trust him even when he chooses not to rescue me from the burning firey furnace.

    And God cannot work in your life until you are ready to put your complete trust in Him.  Until you are ready to say to Him “God, I trust you to save me.  But even if You choose not to, I still trust and worship You, and You alone.”

    I told someone recently that when I stand before the judgement seat of the Holy God, my only plea is the Blood of the Lamb.  I’ve put my complete faith and trust in Him and I know He has the power to save.  BUT if Jesus looks at me in that day and says “I’ve changed my mind and you are not to be saved.”  Then know this: as I am on my way to the gates of Hell, I will be singing “Praise Him!  Praise Him!  Praise Him.  For He is Just.  He is Holy.  He is Righteous.  And He has given me what I deserve!”

    And I know this to be true because when you live on the other side of the BUT … you live a life that accepts whatever decision God makes for you.  Whether it be to save you from the burning firey furnace, or whether He chooses not to.  Either way, He still is God and I will bow down to no other.

    What about you?  Are you ready to live on the other side of the BUT and to serve Him, to worship Him, to Praise God no matter what decision He may make for your life?