First, always remember
that freedom is the freedom to do what is right. As Abraham Lincoln reminded
us, people never have a right to do wrong. To be fully human is not to be
enslaved to the sins and vices that feed your selfishness, but to be free from
sin and ennobled to serve.
That’s why the Bible
rarely talks about “rights.” Instead, it focuses our attention on our duties
toward God and others. You should love the Lord your God with all your heart,
mind, soul and body and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39).
The obligation to love
God and others is so strong that no human commandment can remove it from you.
So, when the rulers of Jerusalem tried to stop Peter and John from fulfilling
their obligation to speak of Christ, they simply replied, “We must obey God,
rather than man” (Acts 5:29).
This same principle
applies when parents consider their obligation to raise their children in the
fear and admonition of the Lord. It applies to your duty to speak the truth in
love. It applies to your calling to be a Good Samaritan toward whoever needs your
loving hand.
God has called you to
this. Let no man interfere with your freedom to serve. That—and nothing less—is
true freedom.
Satan seeks always to
enslave. Sometimes he enslaves by tempting you to fulfill the desires of the
flesh. But other times, he enslaves by tempting you to knuckle under to the
power of the world.
Satan will pervert
otherwise legitimate powers to stifle your obligation to speak the truth, to
hold you back from loving your neighbor, or from guarding your children from
false teaching.
He does this by
threatening your livelihood, your social standing, or even your life. He does
this by promising promotions and praise if only you will abandon your God-given
duty. Christians recognize these threats and promises as “temptations of the
world.”
They can be
powerful—partly because the threat of losing money or friends is scary—partly
because they make it easy to convince yourself that you are not being selfish,
you are “only following orders.”
Against these
temptations, St. Paul warns us, “See to it that no one takes you captive
by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the
elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Don’t be deceived by
lying philosophies that twist words to distract you from your duty. Don’t be bullied
by human powers that claim a right to make you do wrong. Don’t even be deterred
by the most elemental fears that you will lose your livelihood or your life if
you do your duty.
Your Creator has your
back.
Jesus is the creator of
this world. So, nothing in all of creation can harm those who hearken to their Creator.
“For
in him,” the Bible teaches, “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:8).
In Jesus you are free
to serve, free to do your duty, free to love both God and neighbor. You need
not be confused by philosophy or empty deceit. And you need not fear the powers
of this world—even the most basic or the most powerful.
Your Creator remains in
control. And those who trust in Him cannot be moved. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is
against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12).
