Freedom

Free to be me! It just cracks me up to see things like tie-dyed clothes, peace symbols, flower power cloth patterns, toe socks, etc. return to the fashion scene with young kids acting like these are all whole new things. Then there are some new fashions like the ripped blue jeans too that are currently popular. Oh I’m sorry let’s not forget one of my personal NOT favorites- Slouching pants. You know the ones that wear the waistline down at their knees with a shirt pulled out over them (Sometimes with their boxers showing). Oh, ladies I can’t say I care much for your thong straps showing either.

I remember when I was younger, back when mini skirts first came in style. Of course the big argument at home was, “How short was too short?” Well, I can remember my father’s statement on this, “The skirt or dress could be short enough to be interesting, but it better be long enough to completely cover the subject.” He said, “If you have to go out advertising it all the time, then it can’t be worth all that much.” Oh, there are definitely those fashion statements that we would for sure say, “No Way!” if they ever tried to bring them back again, like the men’s polyester pastel leisure suits of the “70’s”. I really want to know how those ever came into style in the first place.

All this so we can express personal freedom and style. What is so funny is that often we think we are expressing our own personal freedoms and styles (especially when we are teens driving our parents crazy with them), but the funny thing is that we are often just getting sucked into the fashion trends of the time, with others dictating what is cool and current for today so that they can profit by it. Those that are really free in expressing themselves are usually the ones that people make fun of because they don’t fit in with the rest of the “Cool Group” of popular kids.

Then there is the whole freedom of speech thing. This is a very important right that we have as Americans in this country. The fact that we are free to express our religious views without fear of being thrown in jail or worse (like in other parts of the world) is something we often take for granted. However, with that said, I sure wish people would use some common sense with this. Our news media never ceases to amaze me in their quest for headlines. Like the one night I was listening to the news about a kid that was arrested after he made pipe bombs. When ask how he learned how to do it, the reporter said that the boy had learned how to do it from a site on the Internet. OK that much is fine, but then the idiot (sorry but this is my opinion) news people go and tell people the exact Internet site where they can find the directions on how to build a pipe bomb can be found. Gee, let’s give more troubled and dangerous people information so they can build them too!

There are so many people that take our freedoms for granted and don’t understand that there are responsibilities and a cost that is paid for the freedoms that they have. It is the same for Christians too today. Christ paid the price on the cross so many years ago, so that we are free with our faith in Him. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says, “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Having freedom with the Lord means we are free from the bonds of death. We are free to become all that God has planned for us to be.

The more we grow in faith the more we are free from the temptations of our own sinful nature and the life we use to have. The more we trust God the more we free ourselves from fear, worry, depression, and many other emotions that can weaken our walk with God or even destroy us if we let Satan prey on our weaknesses. This does not mean we are free to do anything we want and still call ourselves good Christians. Galatians 5:13-14 says, “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. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." This means it is up to us to maintain self control, through the control our faith now has when we trust in Him.

For non-Christians it may seem odd or nonsense when we say that when we give everything over to God with our faith then we are truly free. How can you be free when you give all control up? David wrote in Psalm 57:1-3, “Be gracious to me, Oh God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven to save me”. God does expect our trust and obedience but look what we get in return. If we have faith and turn it all over to Him then even in the darkest hours in “The Valley” times of our lives we can fell the freedom and peace that He gives us, when we know that He is in control and that He will take care of us.

I can remember an experience I had several years ago. I was teaching middle school art at the time. My students had painted a 6 panel mural that was chosen for national exhibition in Washington DC. Each panel was double sided and measured 4x8 feet. They were too heavy and big for me to move by myself. We were asked to exhibit the mural at our City Hall building for one week, before it was to be sent off to Washington DC. They had even planned a small reception after our City Hall meeting to honor the students’ achievement. Well, the afternoon came and I had to get the mural to City Hall and get it set up by 6:00 pm. My help fell through at the last minute so the only help I was able to get was loading it onto the truck at our school. When asked how I was going to get it unloaded and set up I told the person that asked, “Well, I prayed and turned it all over to God, because I have no solutions.” I remember seeing the expression on the person’s face more or less thinking I was crazy, as I drove off to City Hall. I did not want to disappoint my students and I had no solutions so, I trusted God and I continued to pray.

When I got to City Hall it was about 5:30 pm and it was like a ghost town. As I walked in the door all I saw was the elderly woman from our PTA that was setting up a table of refreshments for the reception. I asked her if she had seen anyone that could help, but she told me the place as far as she knew was empty since 5:00 pm. She asked me what I was going to do. I told her the same thing I told the other person. However, this time it met with a better response because the woman was a Christian with a very strong faith. She told me that she would trust in God too and that she would also pray for me as I set off to see if I could find anyone to help me. I thanked her and set off on my quest. As I walked down the hall where all I could hear was my echoing footsteps I continued to pray for God to help me find a man strong enough to help me unload and set up the mural. It was less than a minute after I finished praying that I heard some footsteps around the corner. As I hurried and turned the corner I could not believe my eyes. There walking towards me was a very big muscular man. When I asked him if he could possibly spare a few minutes to help me he gave me a huge smile. He said, “I can do better than that!” You see he was one of our city fireman that just arrived at City Hall for a meeting with our other firefighters. So not only did I get his help, but he went to the meeting room and rounded up 5 other big strong men to help too. I never touched a panel. They did it all for me. The PTA woman could not believe her eyes as I came back around the corner with the 6 men. I was smiling ear to ear and as I walked past her all I could say was, “Praise the Lord!” and she echoed my statement with a big smile of her own. God is so good. He heard my prayer and answered it with far more than what I had prayed for.

When we trust God and maintain self-control, we are protected from temptations and other things that would wear us down, prey on our weaknesses, and point out our failures. It is when we trust God and stay strong in our faith and self-control that God gives us peace and other blessings too. That faith and peace gives us true freedom. The Bible warns us that if we lose our self-control we can meet with disastrous results. There are so many ways that we can be tempted to lose our self control. When we lose self control we give up our freedom, because it is our weaknesses and vices that are then controlling us and not us controlling them. Swearing, losing our temper easily, spreading gossip, gambling, letting our quest for material things run our lives, addictions, lust, pornography, or other obsessive behaviors that do not honor God’s will for our lives rob our freedom and self control from us if we are not constantly on guard. The Bible also warns us in 1 Corinthians 8:9, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”

Developing self-control does not come from just wishing you had it. It is not just the action of doing something right, it is also the action of refusing to fall to the temptation to do something wrong. It takes strong faith and hard work. The frustrating thing is when we backslide to our sinful desires. It is not always easy to just walk away. But that is why we have the Holy Spirit to help us. When we pray and trust God by turning our cravings and temptations over to Him, He will bless us by allowing the Holy Spirit to move through us. When this happens, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome our sinful desires and frees us from the chains that the sinful desires bind us up with. We build self control through our faith and then we are free to resist temptations in the future. Real freedom comes with real faith. Are you ready to turn it all over to God so that you can find true freedom too?


Freedom

No ties to hold me
No Stings to bind
I need my freedom
My peace of mind
I will give you all
That I have to give
But I must control my life
To be able to live

No ties to hold me
No Stings to bind
I’ve found my freedom
My peace of mind
I will give you all
That I have to give
But my faith is with Him
And by Him I will live.

FaithfulToOne © 2007


1 Peter 2:16
Live as free men,
but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.


Remember: Use the "Footsteps In The Valley" link below to return to the top of the page. Use the "More Footsteps In The Valley" link below to take you to the second page of my blog. Check it out and see what I have added. I hope that this page and the new one that I have added inspires you and helps you grow with your walk in faith.