When William Wallace shouted, “FREEDOM!” in the movie, Braveheart, in sends a shiver down our spine. Yeah, freedom.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
Does this mean I am free to do whatever I like, whenever I like? Some Christians think they are now free to do whatever they like whenever they like. As I mentioned once before, with freedom comes great responsibility.
When a person has been set free, they are free indeed. But remember that as Christians we are set free when we make Jesus our Lord and Savior. As Lord, Jesus has set some disciplines and boundaries. To the casual reader this might seem that we have replaced one master with another master and could mean we have moved from one form of slavery to another.
However, let me ask you this. Does a mum tell the child, “Don’t touch the hot plates on the stove” because the child is a slave or because out of love the mum is setting a boundary to protect the child? Now the child can obey the boundary placed upon it, or not. The “or not” will mean consequences – a burnt set of fingers! Obedience also has it’s consequences – no burnt fingers. Simple.
In the book, “The Great Physicians RX For Children’s Health” by Jordon Rubin, it tells of an experiment done at an Elementary School.
It seems some voices in the school administration said the fence outlining the schoolyard should be taken down. Kids shouldn’t be fenced in, they said. They need to experience freedom, the idea that there’s a big world out there waiting for them. Ringing their play yard with a fence is a harsh reminder that someone else is in control of their lives. You can see it everytime they go over to the fence and look out. Why, some kids will even shake the fence to see how sturdy it is. They want to get out!
That’s how the thinking was in the administration offices, so the perimeter fence was taken down. But in an example of the law of unintended consequences, the schoolchildren did not flee the playgrounds when they had the “freedom” to do so. Instead, they huddled in the center of the school yard, where they felt safe. Without a fence outlining their world of play, they didn’t feel secure.
Their boundaries were gone. It’s the same with discipline. Without boundaries, defining what is and what is not acceptable behaviour, there is no freedom.
So, as we read further in Galatians Chapter 5, we discover freedom does have boundries:
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13
Enjoy your FREEDOM!