The Foundation of Freedom
Terry J. Hallock
John 8:31-36
Lasting and honest freedom does not occur by chance. Freedom's presence, or its absence, is the inevitable result of the spiritual foundation that forms the character of an individual or nation. If that foundation is right freedom will ensue. If that foundation is wrong freedom will die. It is no accident this land has long enjoyed real freedom nor that nations like present-day China do not. America was built on a foundation that couldn't help but produce freedom. China rests on a foundation that can't help but kill it.
Often we assume that our personal and national freedom is as available to us as the air we breathe and thus needs no foundation of particular value to sustain it. Thus many around us see freedom as no more than personal license to do exactly as they choose when they choose unteathered to any restraints, boundaries, morality or ethics. ''If it feels good, do it'' is today's mantra. The problem with freedom that has no sustaining and guiding foundation other than personal desires is the same problem one would encounter when trying to fly a kite without a string. The kite may quickly soar into the stratosphere yet because it has no anchor it will soon come crashing to the ground or into whatever object the wind directs it. When we believe freedom is simply doing whatever we feel like whenever we feel like it with no anchor holding us and not morality guiding us, we become exactly like that kite. That's not freedom. That's deception that leads to destruction.
Real freedom can only exist when it is built on a foundation that directs us toward all the positive potential we possess while keeping us from all the negative possibilities we harbor. In the name of freedom would we allow a toddler to place his or her hand on the open flame of a stove? Simply because they have the ''right'' to do so doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. Would allowing that toddler to place his or her hand on ...
Terry J. Hallock
John 8:31-36
Lasting and honest freedom does not occur by chance. Freedom's presence, or its absence, is the inevitable result of the spiritual foundation that forms the character of an individual or nation. If that foundation is right freedom will ensue. If that foundation is wrong freedom will die. It is no accident this land has long enjoyed real freedom nor that nations like present-day China do not. America was built on a foundation that couldn't help but produce freedom. China rests on a foundation that can't help but kill it.
Often we assume that our personal and national freedom is as available to us as the air we breathe and thus needs no foundation of particular value to sustain it. Thus many around us see freedom as no more than personal license to do exactly as they choose when they choose unteathered to any restraints, boundaries, morality or ethics. ''If it feels good, do it'' is today's mantra. The problem with freedom that has no sustaining and guiding foundation other than personal desires is the same problem one would encounter when trying to fly a kite without a string. The kite may quickly soar into the stratosphere yet because it has no anchor it will soon come crashing to the ground or into whatever object the wind directs it. When we believe freedom is simply doing whatever we feel like whenever we feel like it with no anchor holding us and not morality guiding us, we become exactly like that kite. That's not freedom. That's deception that leads to destruction.
Real freedom can only exist when it is built on a foundation that directs us toward all the positive potential we possess while keeping us from all the negative possibilities we harbor. In the name of freedom would we allow a toddler to place his or her hand on the open flame of a stove? Simply because they have the ''right'' to do so doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. Would allowing that toddler to place his or her hand on ...
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