As Americans, we are concerned about the maintenance of our rights. With much blood shed over almost 250 years, we have secured for ourselves basic freedoms of speech, religion, the press, free assembly, and many others. Those rights are why we, as American Christians, may meet to worship freely, share our testimony without fear of imprisonment, and speak forth our deep convictions about any number of issues. Without these rights, it would be much more difficult to speak God's truth to power , to call out evils which threaten to destroy us, and call for justice on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves. The current, alarming state of things in New York state is an example. No one is more vulnerable than a baby, either in or out of the womb, and God is watching to see if His people will stand in solidarity with these little ones. Knowing their angels constantly see the face of the Almighty, we remind our country and ourselves that we will be held to account for their treatment. The freedom of speech gives us a constitutional right to speak for what's right, even when others do not want to hear.
Our freedoms are precious. That is why it is crucial that they are used responsibly; history shows us that the irresponsible use of freedoms is what leads to their loss. Francis Schaeffer cautioned that as western nations abandon God's laws, the purpose of those freedoms is forgotten, and in the ensuing chaos, those same freedoms become the hammers which destroy once-great nations. Unrestrained freedom brings anarchy, and anarchy always ushers in tyranny. Thus we see that freedoms can never serve as ends to themselves. They are always the means to achieve something greater, or they self-destruct. America's principles have tragically eroded, however, and we pursue freedom only for freedom's sake. This is a crisis.
I am reminded of the movie based on Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park. In the first act, John Hammond is giving a group of scientists a preview of the pre-historic wonders genetically resurrected by his team. Dr. Ian Malcolm is horrified that Hammond has subverted the natural order of things and unleashed on modern Earth forces which could end human life as we know it. He chides Hammond for his irresponsible use of genetic power, saying, "you wield it like a kid who's found his Dad's gun." He closes with this iconic line: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
So it is with our freedom. These days, many people focus only on what they can do--what they have the right to do--without considering whether they should. Most of the current culture war finds its root in this dangerous error. Since there is no longer agreement about what is right and wrong (even whether those concepts exist), no one is willing to agree on a vision for common life as a society. There remain only our "rights" -- the things we insist we can do. Public conflicts come when one group's "rights" conflict with another's. Those insisting on abortion will go to war over a woman's ability to do so anytime she wishes. This week, the Senate blocked a "Born Alive" bill which would have protected a baby if it had survived its mother's attempts to kill it. Though this is clearly infanticide, the entire focus is on what the mother can do; there is no accounting for whether she should. Furthermore, there are those "social justice warriors" who, claiming to champion their freedom, would silence and persecute any who would speak against them. That they do not see the irony is evidence of how far we have fallen. They destroy the same value they claim to uphold.
Having listed a couple of the obvious issues, I want to urge caution, lest we accidentally find ourselves on the list of those who cannot distinguish the things we can do from what we should do. We place much stock in our freedom to say whatever we want, and that is good. No one should be able to take away our rights to speak out, particularly because this right enables us to speak on behalf of what is right and just. We must be responsible, however, in how we use this right. If we make the right to speak freely an end unto itself, if we forget that all freedoms must be in the service of a greater good if they are to endure, we are sure to end up doing more harm than good. There is a good chance that you have people in your life, perhaps co-workers or family members, who pride themselves in saying exactly what's on their mind, whether others like it or not. They delude themselves, thinking this is some kind of heroic virtue. Yet, while they flaunt their courage in saying what they want, what effect do they have on your family, or workplace? They corrode the sense of camaraderie among your team, turning a smooth-running operation into a toxic, dysfunctional shambles. That "crazy uncle" who spouts forth whatever nonsense he wants spoils the family reunion each year. In each case, a greater good is sabotaged by a crank who insists on giving vent to every unedited thought. He fixates on what he can say, but tragically fails to consider whether he should. He ends up sacrificing a greater good for a much smaller, petty good of his own.
Our whole society is infected with the fever of irresponsible freedom. Since it cares little for the perspectives of others, it melts away the social glue that binds communities and nation together. Make no mistake: this social glue is of great importance. When the Framers of the U.S. Constitution set out to "secure the Blessings of Liberty" to themselves and their Posterity, that Liberty was in pursuit of a noble vision: "in order to form a more perfect Union." The Union of our nation, the social glue that would bring together people of all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs, was to be accomplished through each person's freedom, exercised responsibly in service to that vision, much larger than themselves. The goal of freedom was not freedom; it was the mutual respect given to the each person, created by God to be free, and yet to use that freedom to serve Him and to serve one another in love. In other words: community, a "more perfect Union." Through history, our country's unique ability to form a community from very different people has been a key ingredient in its success.
Sadly, the dream of community in America has been all but abandoned in our crazed obsession with personal freedom. Like the boy who has found his father's gun, we brandish our freedom like a toy, untempered by the disciplined training which makes it a useful tool instead of a deadly hazard. People strut about, making a show of saying and doing as they wish, without a single consideration for the experiences and beliefs of others in their communities. Very little progress is made from such an approach. If a person proclaims their side of a contentious issue without respecting, listening to, and reasoning with those from the opposite viewpoint, three things happen. Those on the same side cheer loudly, those on the opposite side become insulted and more intransigent than before, and the community becomes more divided and distrusting. As I said before, more harm than good is done. We cannot continue as a culture unless our generation commits to a different way.
The good news is that we, in the Church, know a different way. In Christ, we are forged into a new community. He came to be our peace, to make the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility between us (Ephesians 2:14). Only in the Church can the vision of community reach its highest potential on a fallen world with its sinful people. Jesus came to reconcile us to God, and to one another. Because Jesus has made us into a new creation, we have the opportunity to set aside anger and pride, to choose loving service to one another instead of ego. Our example can be a light to an America which has truly lost its way. Until our nation can remember what a spirit of community looks like, they should be able to look to us, keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Until they learn again the difference between what they can do and what they should do, we are called by God to be a model of freedom used with focus and responsibility -- to build up our community while being faithful to God's truth. Until they come to understand what's right and what's wrong, we are called to stand for righteousness and justice to the least of these. Until people with deaf ears stop shouting at other people with deaf ears, accomplishing nothing but rancor, the Lord would have us be the model of how to speak with moral conviction, yet filled with the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5). We're called to show how to stop shouting, but rather appeal to hearts and minds. As Christians, we understand that unless we do and say all things with love, we have absolutely nothing. (1 Corinthians 13). We, of all people, should know that our personal freedom must be disciplined to serve a greater good--a vision of love, service, and community. So, let us refuse to contribute to the breakdown of community through freedom gone mad. Christ has called us be an example of His higher way.
"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." -- Galatians 5:13
