Choosing the Old Way to Freedom

The New Testament scriptures speak of the followers of Jesus being set free. The Apostle Paul said, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 ESV). Jesus, himself, said, “. . . you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 ESV). Freedom is a powerful word. But I’m not sure if everyone interprets it in the same way.

A typical 21^st Century individual might look at these verses and think that Jesus is saying that if we’re following Him we can throw off all restrictions. We’re not required to submit to anything or anyone that seems unworthy. We can do whatever we want! We’re free!

At least that’s what it sounds like.

Some Things Have Changed

But after a little bit of digging, it would be discovered that our modern understanding of freedom is very different than what the ancients typically understood it to mean.  It was in the 1600’s and 1700’s that the idea of freedom began to shift and be defined as the absence of external obstacles, that is the ability to act according to your own will without interference. In other words: freedom gives you the space to choose whatever you want to do, even to choose badly.

Before that, going back to the New Testament and then the Medieval period, freedom (or liberty) was seen as the capacity to pursue and do what is good. To become truly free, one had to rid himself of moral corruptors that would get in the way of choosing virtues such as love, courage, wisdom, and justice.

The Old Way

The ancients would have seen sin and foolishness as reducing freedom since a sinner and ignorant person would be considered enslaved to ungodly passions, vices, and poor choices. They understood that growing in virtue is what increased freedom, releasing one’s capacity to act according to truth, reason, and goodness.

A common example would be a musician. A beginner at the piano is “free” to hit any key on the board and produce nothing more than noise. A master musician, however, is constrained by musical truth and training to produce beauty. The master is thus seen as more free than the beginner who has no constraints. True freedom was seen to always produce something good.

Modern Adjustments

More modern thinkers, however, began to focus on freedom as autonomy with no external interference. What a person chose became less important than the right to choose for oneself. Constraints (i.e., laws, traditions, authorities, and even religious expectations) began to be understood as potential threats to freedom. Thus, whatever the thing was that prevented someone from freely choosing (whatever the choice might be) that was what was truly bad. The prevailing idea that took root was that a person should be free to do ANYTHING as long as he or she doesn’t harm others.

In the old understanding, freedom had a goal – be it goodness, truth, beauty, or God. With the modern understanding, freedom is now seen as neutral – it doesn’t matter what you choose. The old question of freedom was “Are your desires rightly ordered?” The newer question is “Who or what is constraining you from choosing what you want?”

The ancients would have seen choosing evil as meaning you are less free. While the modern view tends to run the opposite direction: if the ability to choose evil is taken from you, you are less free. Interestingly, schooling in the Medieval period would have seen training in how to control one’s desires and passions as increasing one’s freedom. Today, education leans hard towards increasing a people’s freedom by maximizing their options, even to do evil.

True Freedom in Christ?

So what might the original intention of the New Testament writers have been when speaking of freedom? When Christ sets you free, you are released to increase your capacity to do good. You are free to grow in the spiritual virtues of faith, hope, and love (along with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control).

Sure, no one wants outside institutions or authoritarian masters shackling them with arbitrary external restraints. But without my soul being freed to love and choose what is truly good, throwing off the external control of others means very little. I still remain in bondage to my own lusts, fears, anger, anxiety, etc. Freedom to do whatever I want so often turns into a trap.

It is for freedom – to pursue godliness, self-forgetful love, and truth – that Christ has set you free. So, do not get entangled again in the yoke of bondage to your own selfish desires that blind you to what is eternally important.

I must remember, it is only by learning to restrict and limit my wild, unlimited freedom to bang on the keys of the piano of life that I can be truly set free to produce beautiful music.

And I am confident the same is true for you, too.

Response:

• What is my understanding of freedom? Does it motivate me to live a more loving  and virtuous lifestyle or to justify habits and practices that encourage selfishness?
• Are my free choices leading me to create good and beautiful music with my life that bless others or produce confusing, dead-end noise that harms relationships and damages my own soul?
• Jesus, teach me the Truth so that I can be set truly free to be who you have intended me to be.