Since the worldwide lockdowns, many movements have grown up seeking freedom. A great number of people were appalled and alarmed by the overreach of the state during these times, and they continue to see state inference with all increasingly more aspects of life. The people in these movements are seeking a particular kind of freedom – freedom from the state.
While I would argue this is a laudable aim, I do wonder what they plan to do with their freedom. I also wonder how much time they’ve considered why the state is doing this. I know there are many discussions – I’ve been party to some – blaming the state and blaming particular politicians or civil servants, bureaucrats even, for losses of rights and freedoms. People are making plans, preparing for what they see coming, the fallout from such losses.
When I consider why this is happening, I tell myself that we don’t deserve our freedom. We had it, and we lost it.
Children do not have much freedom. They need an adult watching over them. You may think of situations with your own children. How do children gain a degree of freedom? They show themselves to be responsible in specific tasks. I remember when I was a teenager being given a degree of freedom to go with my friends on the train. When I showed myself to be responsible, I was allowed to go farther.
The same applies to adults. When we show ourselves to be responsible, we are given more freedom and more responsibility. And the cycle continues. Who gives us these freedoms? The aforementioned state? The politicians? The bureaucrats?
You may have read our previous articles on Rights and the Law. We get our rights from the Law. Without the Law we have no rights. And our freedoms come when we obey the Law. God’s laws are much easier to live by than man’s bureaucratic laws. The best way to be free from state overreach, from horrifying lockdowns, from hate speech laws is to show God we are responsible people by obeying His laws. Love, service, integrity, responsibility all go a long way to regaining our freedoms.
Part 2 can be read here.