“Freedom isn’t free.” “Never forget.”
Tomorrow, July 4th, is the day that has been set aside for us to celebrate the birth of our great nation. It will not be unusual for us to see those phrases (or others like them) on T-shirts, message boards, billboards, banners, and a whole host of other means.
THE STATEMENT IS TRUE.
I know our country is not perfect; none are. But when I think of the countries to live in-China, Russia, North Korea, and others come to mind-there is still no better place to live. While I get frustrated with things as I watch them deteriorate, I also am grateful for the freedom we have. The very freedom that so many rail against is the very freedom they have that allows them to demonstrate, spew vitriolic rhetoric, and other junk like that. It is not uncommon to hear people, especially celebrities complain and scream against America and threaten to leave if they don’t get their way. I want to say to them, “Bye. And oh yeah, try to speak out against that country and its leaders like you do hear and are now doing. See how far that gets you.” Can you say, “MIA and never to be seen or heard from again?” You get my drift.
Do I wish things were better? Do I wish we weren’t so divisive and divided? Do I wish we could put a muzzle on certain people and rhetoric? That answer to all is Yes, a thousand times Yes. But, again, its the very freedom we enjoy, that we celebrate tomorrow, that allows us the spout that vitriol and rhetoric and demonstrate.
One verse of Scripture stands out to me because as a follower of Jesus I am more concerned about the direction we are going morally and spiritually than politically. Proverbs 28:2 says, “Where there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.” (NLT)
That is not a political statement.
Freedom isn’t free. We need to celebrate the freedom we have. We need to preserve the freedom we have. We must never forget the men and women who fought so hard to get us that freedom and preserve it. As a follower of Jesus, I must never forget and always be grateful for the ultimate freedom: “The one set free by the Son is free indeed.” In that truth, is true freedom.
