WHERE FREEDOM ENDS

July 4 – a special day for the celebration of freedom and of our country. We honor and revere the multitudes who have fought and died for our freedom as well as the pioneers through the centuries who dreamed big and went thought against the status quo to make our nation better.

May this day also be a day of self-examination of our own attitudes and behaviors. Am I contributing to the health and strength of our nation by my own personal beliefs and behaviors? If everyone in the country thought and acted like I do, would we all move forward? Or would there be insideous little moths that would secretly eat away at the fabric of our culture?

Love thy neighbor as thyself. (Mark 12: 31)

I believe that among the most dangerous internal threats we have are those related to freedom itself. Freedom is a wonderful thing – up to a point. God purposed that members of mankind should have a will and the ability to make choices. However, some use freedom as an excuse to make choices that they believe are “good” for them, no matter how those choices affect others. People want what they want when they want it. They go off on “the search for happiness,” leaving the feelings and the lives of others in the wake of their quest.

And don’t get me started on entitlement! There is no Biblical foundation for people who are able to work and contribute sitting down and expecting others to work and give it to them. We are instructed to share with those who are unable to help themselves (in Biblical days, that was “the widows and the orphans”), but laziness (slothfulness) is forbidden. The education on that sense of entitlement begins at home, where sometimes with the best of intentions, over-indulgent parents give their children and teens perks and luxuries without attendant responsibilities and contributions. We used to call it being “spoiled.” I’m not sure what we call it today, but it’s creating a component of a generation of kids whose chances of success in life are diminished because they have learned the attitude of entitlement. OK, I’m off the soap box now. (Smile)

Our forefathers had a vision in mind for our country, founded on Judeo-Christian principles. When they put together the Constitution that still guides us today, they knew that freedom was not unlimited nor was it cheap.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper? (Genesis 4:9)

The context of this scripture is that Cain had murdered his brother (the first recorded murder in the Bible). God, of course, knew this. However, he asked it of Cain to call him to accountability. The attitude behind Cain’s crime became apparent in his answer: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” He revealed that he did not care about how his actions affected his brother. Instead, he had exercised selfish freedom, and his brother was dead.

Entirely selfish freedom is no freedom at all, for such choices ultimately destroy relationships, individuals, and the future. Oh, how I pray that all of our people will come back to the exercise of choices that are good for all, not just for self! Those who recognize and act on those responsibilities under God are the people who have made our country great.

I often recall the words of my high school civics teacher, Ms. Hatten. She told us many times, “Your freedom ends where my nose begins.”