Friday, 24 April 2009

• Freedom means responsibility—that’s why most people are afraid of it.

  
  I found this quoted on a work portal and thought how curious. In reflex my mind went, that's silly, surely they are on opposite ends of the imaginary spectrum
  

  When we say "I want to be free!" we are saying we wish we could make all the choices free from necessity, coercion or constraints; but are we also wishing we can relinquish responsibility for the choices that we make or avoid the repercussions of our choices or actions?

  Because we live in a world of limited freedom and constraints of universal and civil laws, we often hear remarks like
  "I wanted to, but couldn't because..."
  "I couldn't help it..."
  "I tried, but somehow..."

  As it stands we are subject to laws, circumstance, human frailty.. As I pondered on the logic of the statement, I realised that freedom is something you give yourself. We who think we are not free, are not free because sometimes we want to do something stupid but don't want to sign under it, pick up the tab for it, advocate it, reap the result of it or simply put, take responsibility of it.

  Even with laws and social rules, there are countless examples of people who defy them and don't play by them. The results range from the heroic and extraordinary to the tragic. It's the acceptance of the responsibility that comes with our choices that helps us on the path to true freedom.

  • If I want to drive at 200km/h but it's against the law, and I don't want to get a speeding ticket. Then I am not free. Stupid law.
  • If I want to drive at 200km/h but it's not against the law, then I would assume I'm free to do so. Unless I'm worried about the law of life and death in the event I drive off the edge into a ravine. But if I'm not afraid to die, because God has defeated that law, then technically I'm free to drive at 200km/h.
  • If I don't want to drive at 200km/h and want to drive in a safe and sensible manner, I'm certainly free to do so as there are no laws against that.

  Sooooooo, I will remember to remember that when I feel my freedom impeded, I should ask myself what stopping me? Having a law against murder has not yet stopped murders from taking place. (not that I'm contemplating murder). If you can pay the price you can get the goods. And ultimately, we all want the good goods.

  It suddenly seems more appealing to say 'hey i had no choice, i couldn't help it!' so we can choose something dumb and negotiate our way out of the dumbness we're gonna get back.

  But for those who understand the nature of the freedom package, step right up, it's yours to claim.

  _____________________________________________________________________________________

  ^15-18So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!

   ¹⁹I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?

   ^20-21As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end.

   ^22-23But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.
  Romans 6:15-23, The Message
  

  ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
  Galatians 5:22, New Living Translation

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