Freedom Ain't Free

Between Juneteenth and Independence Day, tis the season of freedom. It’s not hard to understand why we would celebrate holidays such as these. Whether it’s a group of colonies wanting to escape the heavy handed rule of a faraway king or a stolen people wanting to escape lives of strenuous and forced labor, the yearning of freedom from oppression is powerful. That was true in the past, and it still is today. We see unrest all around the world because people desire to be free of the negativity and injustice directed towards them. The current uprising in our nation is the example that is most close to home. People are hitting the streets with passion, and some others don’t understand the movement. The fight against slavery is easy enough for everyone to comprehend. No one wants to be the property of others. No one wants to spend their lives being forced to act against their will. However, for some, the connection is not as easy to see in today’s events.

It’s true enough that the protesters and their allies are not enslaved, but that doesn’t mean they are truly free. Physical bondage is not the only thing that can make someone feel robbed of their freedom. Whether or not someone is in the position of those that feel oppressed, it is still possible to gain insight into the feelings of those who are. All it takes is a little empathy. If those standing on the outside of the movement took the time to truly listen to the feelings of the people that feel the need to protest and fight back against what they perceive to be an unjust system, maybe the purpose of the protesters would become clearer.

The leaders and primary participants of the protests are dedicating their time, money, and resources to the cause. They also are risking violent resistance from those against which they are protesting and their supporters as well as contraction of the COVID virus that is still rampaging through the nation. All of that should convince anyone that the protesters are sincere about their cause. The protesters understand a very real truth. Freedom isn’t free. Someone always has to pay a cost. Winning freedom takes time, money, and often blood. Just consider every fight against oppression we’ve seen in this country. The war for independence from Britain was a bloody affair as was the war against slavery in this country. The Civil Rights movement was not a war in the traditional sense, but blood was shed and lives were lost nonetheless. Unfortunately, the current call for change has not been cheap either. Property has been destroyed. People have been hurt and killed. The very psyche of our nation and everyone in it has been frayed. It’s unfortunate, but this may be the price that has to be paid so that everyone in the nation can start to feel unburdened from the chains of oppression and injustice.

Christians should understand the concept of “paying the price” as well as anyone. We believe that all people are born to a slavery of a sort. Jesus said as much himself.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. - John 8:34

Yes, we humans are slaves to sin. At first, that statement may seem a little hyperbolic, but in reality it’s an apt comparison. Being a slave means being in a position where you don’t act based on your own will but instead under the control of someone or something else.  It’s true that most of us go through periods where sin isn’t something that controls us but is instead something in which we choose to indulge.  Still, sin is destructive, and eventually most come to understand that. Most want to escape the hold that sin has on their lives, but many find it more difficult than they might have thought. Getting past our vices is hard. Without Jesus, true escape from sin is impossible

As believers, we understand that we can escape from sin and its wages. We can experience freedom but not without cost. Luckily for us, the primary price has already been paid. God sent Jesus, his son, to die for us so that we could experience freedom from sin. All we have to do to claim our freedom is believe in Jesus’s sacrifice.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. - Romans 6:6

Even for God, obtaining freedom meant shedding blood, but he didn’t leave it to us to pay that price. He took on the form of a human and gave His life. He, in the form of Jesus, paid the cost for our freedom. That just goes to show you how much he loves us. Many may feel that their own freedom is a prize worth risking their lives, but how many are truly willing to pay that cost for others? The Bible speaks highly of those willing to sacrifice their lives for their loved ones.
 

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. - John 15:13

Given that verse, how great must God’s love have been for us given that he was willing to make that sacrifice for those he saw as his enemies?

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. - Romans 5:10

Maybe we all can’t understand exactly what we are seeing in the uprisings occurring in this country right now. It isn’t necessarily something that everyone can understand, however, we can understand when others are hurting. Whether or not we humans understood the toll that sin was taking on us, God did, and he paid the price for us. 

Again, it is an unfortunate truth that sometimes blood is the cost for freedom. Not everyone is expected to pay that ultimate price especially for people they do not know. However, all of us can contribute to the cost, whether it be through prayer, love, and understanding for our fellow people or through weightier actions. If Jesus could give his life so that we could be free from a master that owned us from birth, we as believers should be happy to do our part to help our fellow people escape bonds that are trivial in comparison.

Chris Lawyer

Image courtesy of pauldavisoncrime.com