Americans are very focused on freedom. That is what our nation was founded on, the right to be free. We recently had our nation’s freedom celebration as we celebrated the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. The day we declared to the world that we would be free. We love the idea of freedom, but I wonder if we have lost track of what freedom means.
Freedom seems to have come to represent my “right” to do whatever I want. My right to be my own person. Freedom has come to be a very self-centered concept. It is about the right to do what makes me happy. It seems that, perhaps, we have lost sight of what true freedom stands for. I find it a bit ironic that, in our effort to achieve freedom, we look to the government to pass more laws and more restrictions to protect us from ourselves. Laws that will force people to do what I think they should do so that I can have my personal freedom. After all, America would be a much better place if everyone else would just do things the way I think they should be done and behave the way I think they should. Creating more restrictions is actually taking away the freedom that we long for, one small piece at a time.
Or, perhaps we no longer want freedom. Maybe we want someone to tell us what we need to do and take away our right to think for ourselves and make our own decisions. Maybe we want someone else to decide what we should and shouldn’t do. Maybe we want someone else to decide what is best for my life. Our parents made all the decisions for us and now that I’m an adult, it would be much easier if someone else would just keep making those decisions for me. I believe the challenge we are facing is that we have forgotten what freedom is.
As we head toward a new presidential election and the rest of the world sits back and laughs at what the great United States of America has become, maybe it is time to examine ourselves and take some time to think about freedom and what that stands for. I am saddened for a nation that, with its millions of people to choose from, cannot come up with a decent candidate to be our president. I would love for the American people to stand up and say “Nope, go back and try this again.”
We have put our faith in the political parties instead of God. We believe we can fix our problems. We seem to choose candidates based on their entertainment value and how much press we can get out of them, rather than their values and leadership. Give me a candidate with values and integrity. Someone whose life exemplifies morals and a love for our country. Someone who has a love of God and whose life demonstrates that love. True freedom only comes from God. When we trust God more than ourselves, that is when we begin to experience what it means to be free. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever I want. True freedom is the joy and peace that comes from following God. Yes, politics are important, and choosing the right person for an elected position is important, but perhaps we can choose a candidate that follows God, rather than choosing a candidate because of their political party. Maybe we can start the whole election process over again and give me a candidate that is worth voting for. Maybe we can start a prayer for revival in our nation. A revival that will turn the hearts of the American people back to God. A revival that will remind us that true freedom only comes through Christ. A revival that will pull us together as one nation under God, rather than a nation divided by political ideals. A revival that will produce Godly candidates that are worthy of my vote. A revival that will lead people to “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” True freedom can only come from a spiritual revival. True freedom can only come when a nation turns to God.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
Join me in a prayer for revival for our nation and a revival within each of us. A good place to start is Psalm 33: 12-22
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
May our nation once again be called a blessed nation, because our God is the Lord.
Have a blessed week,
-Curtis
