Freedom...

I was listening this morning to Bruce Feiler talk about his new book which is about the grassroots movement toward freedom in the Middle East.  He compares the Arab Spring movement with the story of Moses and the freedom of the Hebrew people.  He's right.  The biblical stories are human stories.  We relive them and retell them again and again.

But all this discussion about freedom begs the question, what is freedom?  Lots of freedom exists in the lives of dictators who live off their people.  They can do and spend whatever they want.  The Arab Spring, it might be argued, actually limited their freedom.

Yes, but it provides freedom to the people...OK, freedom to what?  for what?  On the 4th, we celebrated our "freedom."  Freedom to what?  for what?  Freedom to argue with each other without compromise over political issues?  Freedom to authoritatively speak completely fabricated information in media outlets with no consequences?  Freedom to put profit over safety in W. Virginia mines?  Freedom to what?  for what?

Feiler suggests we parallel the story of Moses.  So what kind of freedom did the Hebrew people get?  After God brought them out of Egypt and through the desert...they got rules.  Ten big ones and according to the biblical text, a whole boatload of extras.  How is that freedom?

The difference between the freedom we too often practice and God's freedom is in our ultimate focal point.  God's concern is always for the "other."  Abraham was chosen and blessed to "bless the nations." God's work is always toward the redemption of his creation.  Freedom for the Hebrew people moved them from the Pharoah's focal point--all I see is mine and everything I do is for me, to God as focal point--you will be my people and I will be your God.  Selfishness vs. relationship.

I heard someone define the Ten Commandments as a way to live that honors God and honors other people.  Pretty good definition.  And that is how the people of God ought to define "freedom."  In a dictatorship, we have to behave in ways that support the dictator.  Freedom from that usually means we get to start thinking about ways we can support ourselves (or our own) over everyone else.  Perhaps God's freedom means we are free to live in ways that honor God and honor other people.

Perhaps as the people of God, celebrating the "freedom" we have in this country or watching as other cultures and countries work toward "freedom,"  we should look at the biblical definitions of a free people and not our cultural definitions.  Because, living in "freedom" that is all about what is best for us is not really freedom at all.  When it's all about us, we are trapped in the effort to be the best according to a culture that has no interest in our health or well-being.  What we find is that we can never get to that "best" status.  We are always trapped by something we can't achieve.

If we are living in God's freedom, we have already arrived as beloved children of God.  It's not about what we do, it's about who we are.  "I will be your God and you will be my people."  Living in God's freedom enables us to live in the love of God, to live with love for others.  That ability to love and be loved is the real definition of freedom.  That lifestyle that honors God and other people is the one that brings joy and celebration and what we all ultimately seek...freedom.