Desk of Dennis PillerFearlessly Courageous3 16 2023Click for Audio Version
Man lives for what he calls Freedom but in truth,it's another prison. Part 1 of 2
Mahatma Gandhi said,"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality".
I read this piece from a writer on Freedom that I wanted to contrast with what we believe as Christians.Brendan Bouchard, an internet business and life coach, says, and I quote: "a vibrant, genuine, and purposeful life is the right of all humankind. But most of us fail to grasp it. We are lions and lionesses living as mice. Rather than exploring freely on the Savanna, we are living, small, and distracted lives. It is the calling of each man and woman who draws breath to have a grand vision for our lives, and to each day, claimed the vastness of that vision. Yet rather than stalk our dreams with abandon, we too often sit and sulk, blaming and complaining, chasing after paltry goals, that cheat the magnificence of our being. Is this our true nature? Surely not. We are all meant to be wild and independent and free, our hearts filled with a ferocious passion for life. The day is meant to be ours, and our purpose within it is to live who we truly are and enjoy the full terrain of life‘s freedom as we face our own meaning and purpose, our own legacy. If…we can unsee ourselves from social restrictions, we can have that day, and we can leap and stretch, expressing our power to its foolish limits. We can hunt our dreams with a fierceness unimagined by those creatures, trapped in the wasteland of stress and sorrow. So let us not forget the thing we are after:
Humankind's main motivation is to seek and experience personal freedom.
Then we have a heightened sense of genuineness, enjoying our being. We feel unbounded, independent, and self-reliant. There is a palpable, authenticity and aliveness, in how we relate to others and contribute to the world". At first glance, there is so much truth here. I am actually motivated to be that lion versus that mouse. I actually like the idea of stalking my dreams with abandon. Not allowing blaming and complaining and searching after small-minded goals because I’m too afraid to step out of my comfort zone.
But there is another side of me that says STOP. What is it exactly that I’m reading? Have I bought into this half-truth of achievement in the world’s eyes?
Although I have lived much of my life as wild and independent I have sadly learned, the hard way, that my personal freedom will not come from my efforts to be more, do more, and achieve more through my self-will and my self-independence. I certainly know that I have too often been small-minded, and didn’t own my small-mindedness. That often happened when I was controlled by others … when I lived within the confines of their mediocrity so it became a part of my life. Honestly, I relinquished my own free will as Brendan stated: "to a society of strangers. This pseudo self emerged as a mirror reflection of a society that has lost its way".
Regardless of the eloquence of their words and their thinking, the world's quest for freedom is vastly different from what Jesus preached. Throughout history, humanity has regularly changed opinions on what they think is “truth.” and "Freedom". The Reformation was sparked because Martin Luther found that many of the teachings of the Roman church were not true. He said God’s Word is eternal; therefore, the truth that is revealed to us through His Word is eternal. The church got it wrong in Luther’s timebecause they were listening to man’s words, man's traditions,and man's search for Freedom, rather than God’s Word.We must do the same.Jesus says contrary to public opinion or man's truth:Matt 5: 43-47 Love your enemies and bless those who curse you.Judges 7:7 God told Gideon to go against an army of 135,000 with a band of only 300 men.Romans 4: 2-5 Abraham’s salvation came through faith in God and His promised Redeemer. Not by works and neither are we.His ways of freedom are higher than our ways.
Tomorrow Part 2 of Man's Freedom vs God's God of Revival Jen and Brian Johnsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFWF9rSAWF8&list=RDCLAK5uy_mU14EejSbDsfLuPc9KpNzoC0o-YQvi6I4
