Does Freedom Exist?

Many people mistakenly think that anything that makes you experience more freedom must be a good thing. This faulty reasoning is used as the justification for all kinds of harmful practices. Unlike truth, freedom is a relative thing. There is no such thing as absolute, total freedom. People are not designed, either physically, emotionally, spiritually or otherwise, to be capable of experiencing such a thing. Let me explain why:

Freedom is not a self-defining thing, nor is it self-sustaining. In order to be free, you must be free "of something". For example, even though our country offers us many freedoms, we are still not free from our obligation to its laws. In a sense, we are held captive by the laws of this nation. If we decided we wanted to be free from the laws of America and overturned the goverment until there only anarchy remained, would we then be finally free? Certainly not! It would be then that the freedoms that matter would be stripped from us--such as the freedom to enjoy security, orderliness and a life free of fear. Freedom, then is relative. Being "captive", then is also relative. What matters most is this: To what are we being held captive?

Let's bring this onto a spiritual plane. Is spiritual freedom possible? Is it more "free" to believe in a God to whom you dedicate your entire existence, or more "free" to choose not to believe in God and lead your own life? I can certainly see the reasoning behind the argument for the latter and have heard it often. Starting from a point of non-belief, it would seem much more freeing to believe in no God. Also, if one was following a religious system and became disillusioned with it, choosing to deny God would also feel very freeing. However, again we must ask ourselves, what am I being freed from? And, having made my choice, what am I now captive to?

If God exists, made us, loves us and desires a fully, open, dynamic, growing relationship with us--one in which we give Him our complete love and trust--what would that mean? Would this be freeing or enslaving? Well, is marriage freeing or enslaving? It greatly depends on the marriage, I would say. I was once in a relationship that was all about enslaving. It was unhealthy and there was no freedom in it. Now, however, my relationship with my husband gives me a great abundance of freedom. I am free to laugh, love and be who I am--knowing that he will always love me, too. The knowledge that he is my support and my provider and my security is also greatly freeing--I am no longer captive to fear or worry about the future. The knowledge that he is my lifelong companion is also immensely freeing--I don't have to worry about loneliness or having to go through future struggles alone.

It stands to reason then, that if God made us and loves us, it would be more freeing to follow Him, rather than our own limited knowledge and corrupted reasoning. After all, if He designed our makeup--the intricasies of our thought patterns, the infinite variables of our spiritual and emotional needs, and every other minute, seemingly unimportant fraction of our essense--who better to guide us into the best path for our ultimate, holistic well-being?