Let True Freedom Ring!

The Arab Spring is symptomatic of a thirst for freedom in the world. Yet is the freedom human beings are usually looking for true freedom?

A Libyan citizen in his 30s recently interviewed for BBC America declared: “We will finally be free; free to do whatever we please, free to think what we want. Free, free at last!”

Who could blame him for his enthusiasm, after living in a country where freedom has been repressed for over 40 years! A wind of reform has spread over his land. But do such revolutions bring true liberation of the minds and the hearts? Do most people even know what true freedom is? Does it equate to doing whatever one pleases?

Freedom: license or accountability?

Robert Garnier, a 16th-century French poet, once asked: “Does one call ‘freedom’ the license for people to do whatever they please without accountability?”

Is the Arab Spring the offspring of a pent-up desire to have total freedom? Is the desire for total freedom legitimate for any human being? “In any state—in any society where laws exist—freedom can only amount to the ability to do whatever we need to will, without being constrained to do what we must not will to do,” said 18th-century French moralist, thinker and philosopher Montesquieu. That’s worth meditating on!

Whether in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Oman, or anywhere else, if the winds of freedom blow, what brand of freedom are we talking about?

Many end up dying for freedom. As Marie-Jeanne Roland said in 1793 (just before being guillotined during the French Revolution): “Oh, Freedom! How many crimes have been committed in your name!” Even today, many of those thirsty for freedom are taking up arms to kill those who do not have the same opinions they have.

What freedom implies

Most people want freedom—total freedom—unaware that “to be free is to possess the power to rule over self in all things,” as wrote 16th-century French author Michel de Montaigne. That kind of freedom is only possible through a total overhaul of the human mind and through self-control.

A master plan that many are unaware of is at work on this earth. God wants to give us true freedom.

But the Bible reveals that man doesn’t know the way to peace (Romans 3:17), and many are willing to kill to obtain “freedom” if they think they have to. Man needs to be reprogrammed because of the poor choices he makes. The Bible shows that we need to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We need first to change—to repent (Acts 2:38). Without such a drastic mental overhaul, humanity will never be totally free.

God’s definition of true freedom

The Bible teaches what’s been called the “Golden Rule”: “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). Jesus Christ also said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Our freedom is always closely linked to the freedom we allow others to enjoy. “Freedom is always available,” 20th-century writer Henry de Montherlant once wrote. “One just has to be willing to pay the price for it.” Our freedom is subject to our way of thinking, our behavior and our character.

To be truly free, one has to enjoy a clear conscience, not being burdened with guilt. True freedom is exempt from negative thoughts or addictions. Some “prisoners” are free men, yet they live in mental, psychological or spiritual jails. As 18th-century French writer François Fénelon once said, “He who is able to feel free even as a slave has indeed ultimate freedom.”

Let freedom ring

The Bible speaks of true freedom. It reveals that Jesus Christ came to free us from slavery.

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Even those who consider themselves free men have sinned and therefore are slaves of sin (Romans 3:23; 6:16).

True Christians, on the other hand, experience true freedom because such a state begins with obedience to the divine law of God, described by the apostle James as “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25).

It is often fashionable, nowadays, to oppose the law. But can we really find freedom in anarchy? Is it suitable for us to do whatever we please? Montesquieu also said, “Freedom is the right to do whatever is permissible by law.” This applies, and even more so, to the laws of God!

A wonderful government is fast approaching that will engulf the whole earth. In it, men will experience true freedom. If you want to know more about this soon-coming world ruling Kingdom of God, read our free booklet The Mystery of the Kingdom. You’ll be glad you did. And you will be on your way to discovering true freedom.

Bernard Hongerloot presently serves as a minister of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Linda, and children, Rebecca and Jeremy. He has also been serving the French-speaking areas for 36 years.