A Biblical Definition of Freedom

The Oxford Dictionary is wrong. It defines freedom as “the right to act, speak, or think as one wants.” But think about those words for a moment. Those words do not define freedom. Those words define selfishness.

All one has to do to recognize this etymological error is glance at the current condition of our world.  Senseless mass shootings…because someone feels like it. Children as victims of war…because one man desires to conquer a country. Me. My. Mine. Atrocities justified by “the right to act, speak, or think as one wants.”

In the United States, we would be quick to recognize those actions as infringing on other’s rights so we wouldn’t possibly defend those acts of violence in the name of freedom. Yet every day, albeit in miniscule manners, people trample on the rights of others or at least the dignity of others, using “freedom” as the justification. Ranting about the stupidity of another person—created in God’s image. Criticizing what someone else believes—without ever trying to dialogue about it.

Don’t get me wrong. I fully support freedom of speech, but I refuse to rationalize rudeness or treating another as “less than” because of philosophical or even theological differences.

Perhaps the solution can be found in applying an alternate meaning for the word freedom. A definition developed nearly 2,000 years ago in an environment similar to today’s—an era filled with political unrest, economic instability, and cultural uprisings. A definition penned by the Apostle Paul, found in Galatians 5:13:

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13 NLT).

Look at that. The Apostle Paul says freedom is not about what I want; rather, freedom is serving one another. Revolutionary.

Sometimes, when I’m trying to decide what a word “means” (finding the connotation as opposed to denotation—as in this case), I think about the opposite of the word. For example, the opposite of freedom is slavery. Slavery means I have to do something because I’m controlled by someone else. In other words, if I feel I “have to” rant about something because “I can’t help it,” that’s not freedom. That’s slavery. Scriptural freedom means you have nothing to prove—because your freedom is true and eternal. You don’t have to fight to “defend” it because the war is won. Instead, you can use your freedom to serve others, and by serving others, hopefully, they will want what you have. Freedom, not as the world knows, but freedom through Christ. 

After the fireworks have fizzled and the flags have been put away, let’s remember what true freedom is: serving one another. It’s not about doing what I want; it’s about not having to do what I want because I’m free.

I’d love to hear what you think. What’s your definition of freedom? Will you share?

https://www.glendadurano.com/blog

Hope Is a Choice

The last few weeks have been tough. On all of us. Looking at the news and the atrocities in the world, it would be easy to lose hope.

But we must not.

Hope is critical to life. In fact, it’s been scientifically proven!

Back in the 1950’s, Curt Richter, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, performed a study now known as the “Drowning Rats” experiment. Richter placed several dozen rats in a bucket of water. They all drowned after only a few minutes. He repeated the experiment with another group of rats, but this time, right before the rats drowned, he picked them out of the water for a moment, dried them off, and then put them back in. The result? The rats that were momentarily rescued swam approximately 240 times longer than those who were not. The reason, Richter hypothesized, was that the second group of rats had hope.

Hmmm. If having hope can make that much difference in the life of a rat, imagine what it can do for us!

According to the Oxford English Dictionary hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” It’s not some wishy-washy, pie-in the sky, unsubstantiated longing. Hope is a logical decision, usually based on some sort of possibility. In other words, hope is a choice. Your choice.

I find that really interesting, especially in light of 1 Corinthians 13.

This celebrated chapter closes with the well-known words, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV). 

Faith, hope, and love—three great virtues of the Christian life.

Think about those words for a moment and what each one means for the believer. Love is a command (John 13:34). Faith is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). But hope is a choice.

Do you ever have problems choosing hope? I’ve had challenges, but what ultimately got me through was the idea that I could either continue in the circumstance with hope or without hope. The choice I made wasn’t necessarily going to change the situation, but it could change me. I couldn’t control the circumstance, but I could control my response. So, I chose hope. What about you? What is it that threatens your hope and how do you make the choice to stay in hope? Share your words of wisdom.