American Freedom vs. Christian Freedom

Before we dive into this, here’s my fair warning. This is probably going to go places that I can’t ever foresee. You are warned. Enjoy!

The word freedom gets tossed around quite easily for my own personal preference. When something gets tossed around that easily, it often happens because there is an assumption that everyone agrees with the definition.

I don’t think that exists for freedom. At least not in the current state of society.

I can’t venture to guess all the definitions that people assume when they refer to freedom. Some people mean voting. Some people mean license (as in I do whatever the hell I want to do, don’t tell me what to do!!!). Some mean citizenship and its responsibilities. Some equate freedom with military service and/or sacrifice for country. Some equate freedom with choice — choice of work, travel, who you marry, etc. And some equate freedom with money and/or time.

Freedom also has a theological dimension to it. Martin Luther wrote about the freedom of a Christian. He said that a Christian if free of all, and is subject to all at the same time. Scripture’s reference towards freedom often has to do with being free from bondage and sin and death.

Freedom can mean many different things depending on the circumstances as well as the people you are in conversation and activities with.

I don’t think there is a uniform way to define freedom. Which makes the idea of freedom really complex and difficult…