In the Bible (please don’t stop reading at this point), there are 4 divine institutions which are designed for the protection and perpetuation of the human race, and this applies to all people, believers and unbelievers alike: volition, marriage, family and nation. I realize that I am going to lose some of you at this point, but I believe in a real Satan—although not the cloven-hoofed version with the red epidermis and the pointed tail. I am referring to the most intelligent, creative, attractive and personable creature to come from the hand of God, and he attacks our freedom in every way that he can.
The first divine institution is volition, which is also known by that great word, freedom. God designed man with freedom, and that is the most important aspect of our lives to preserve. Theologically speaking, this is the freedom to choose for or against God (more specifically, for or against Jesus Christ); and one of the reasons our nation has been so blessed is because of the value which we place upon the freedom given to us by God. This is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men… This is a key right and a foundational principle in our government, that we be allowed to use our volition, our freedom, our liberty; that we be allowed to make meaningful personal and moral choices. This also sets up one of the chief purposes of government, to protect these rights, one of the most fundamental being freedom.
This is completely in line with the Bible, which is a book which is, on the one hand, all about human freedom. The Bible teaches about the concept of freedom, from the sin of Adam all the way to Nicodemus, who was faced with the ultimate human decision, whether or not to believe in Jesus Christ.
Our Declaration of Independence recognized the importance of freedom, that freedom comes from God, and that one of government’s primary functions is to preserve that freedom.
What we face as a nation is a full-frontal assault upon our freedom.
One of these attacks is a redefinition of freedom, something which the left does all of the time with a great many principles. They redefine freedom as a lack of responsibility. In the Bible, freedom cannot be separated from the concept of responsibility. We are responsible for our every decision. However, Nancy Pelosi offers up freedom without responsibility: free healthcare, so that if you are a frustrated artist, you do not have to be tied to some job interacting with the public, in order to be able to buy healthcare insurance. In Speaker Pelosi’s world, freedom is being able to do whatever you want, without taking into consideration the consequences of those decisions. You do whatever you want to do, and if that ends up not producing any income, then someone else will pick up the tab for you. Food, housing, medical care? No problem. Obama will give it to you from his stash. This is not the teaching of the Bible. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “If someone chooses not to work, then let him choose not to eat as well.” (2Thess. 3:10). The father who does not work to provide for his family is worse than an infidel (1Thess. 5:8). Even the welfare system in the Old Testament involved working for food—the poor went to the nearest field of produce and they harvested what was left behind.
The other side of the coin of freedom is personal responsibility. This is not a difficult concept to understand. If you have a teen son with a clear sense of responsibility, you give him more freedom in his life. You will be more likely to lend him the car or you allow him to go to a party unsupervised. If you have a teen son with no sense of responsibility, then you curtail his freedom—you keep your eye on him every minute.
The left does not like this. They want to remove the concept of responsibility from freedom, and they are doing this at a very young age. I was a teacher for years, and, at one time, poor student performance was mostly attributed to the student and solving that problem was the student’s responsibility. We adults (the student’s parents, counselor, principal and I) would be involved in his process of taking responsibility, but, for the most part, he had to shoulder it. During that last few years that I taught, whether a student was successful or not became my responsibility, and if I was unable to teach and/or motivate them, I was at fault. The student being required to take responsibility for his actions (for the use of his freedom up until that conference) became less and less of a factor.
When young people hook up and get pregnant nowadays, the school sometimes gets to decide whether or not to contact the parents about getting the child an abortion. No responsibility! If she becomes a young adult with children and no husband, the state often steps in and provides a safety net of sorts (food and housing), a safety net which often becomes a lifestyle. Even though the person made a series of bad decisions, she is not expected to bear the full responsibility for those decisions.
Another attack upon our freedom is the requirement that we all purchase healthcare insurance and we are required to purchase the type of insurance which the government deems be be proper. Now, because I am not independently wealthy, I believe in catastrophic insurance, but I see no reason to buy insurance to cover simple doctor visits. Young and healthy kids often see no reason to buy any kind of healthcare insurance during their youthful years of indestructibility. This is freedom associated with responsibility; we make choices and we enjoy (or suffer) the consequences of our actions. However, with the new healthcare bill, the government has stepped in to limit our freedoms in this respect.
If this is allowed to stand, there is no end to government’s powers. Can we be required to have a gym membership? Can we be required to go to this gym? Can we be required to buy certain kinds of food? If it is the “public” paying for our healthcare insurance, then just how far can we take this? Can we be required to be involved in state-sponsored camps, for our health? How far can this be taken?
An issue which has not been taken up as fully as it ought to be is, economic freedom. The more we are taxed and the more we are regulated, the less economic freedom that we have. Obviously, if we do not have a job (and cannot find a job), our freedom is further curtailed. If you carry catastrophic healthcare insurance, as I do, then you pay a small amount for that insurance. If you are required to buy a heftier policy, with bells and whistles that you do not want, the cost can be easily 5x as much. Again, this curtails our freedom.
The court battle many states are taking up against the recent healthcare law goes after the most insidious aspect of this legislation—that we be required to buy something which we do not want to buy, and the outcome of this battle will fundamentally affect this nation’s understanding and protection of freedom, as well as the notion of personal responsibility.
A retired math teacher who spends most of his time exegeting the Old Testament and, once a week, puts out an ezeen.
Screwtape, using his hideous strength.
Amen! We must not grow weary of standing up for our God given rights.
Amen Amen and Amen!!!!!
You nailed the whole thing.
Somehow and someway we have lost our way in this nation. We rely too much on the state and less and less on ourselves. I understand that we are being taxed to death. But I do believe that we must turn this around and be more responsible for ourselves (relying on God for our needs) and not the state.