Growing up in a beautiful American suburb, I remember the proud and patriotic stirrings in my heart each time I heard our National Anthem. “O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave,” I would sing out as a true believer. Sadly, in recent years, I have felt that America is less and less free.
I felt it post 9/11 when I could no longer freely enter airports, stadiums, and public buildings without being searched. I felt it in the fear of a father I met who did not dare take his children into a theme park unless he could carry a concealed weapon. I felt it in the senseless regulations during the COVID pandemic and in the insistence of those who believed it was their right to cough in my face. I feel it in the exposure of each elected leader that has been caught lying to me and in my futile attempts to identify any that have a commitment to serving their constituency. I feel it in my reluctance to discuss controversial issues and to express “unapproved” ideas for fear of being ghosted. I feel it when coerced to bend my thinking to what is popular. I feel it in the slanted news reports of the right, the middle, and the left.
I wonder what we even mean any more by our boast of freedom. To be free means to be without debt or obligation. It means to be able to think, say, and do as we please. In America, we think that we have achieved this. However, am I really free if my opinions have been formed by slanted media? Am I free if I have been duped into believing that the latest conspiracy theory is actually true? Am I free if my beliefs have been influenced by the cyber-attacks of an agency, foreign or domestic, bent on controlling my mind? Am I free just because I think I’m free?
In John 8:31-32, Jesus made a startling statement about freedom. He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” In some ways, that sounds a lot like a politician claiming, “You’ll be free if you vote for me.” Did Jesus really believe that he had exclusive power over truth? From my study of his teachings, I have concluded that he did believe this. Was he correct? I will give you the freedom to decide. But this I know, what he claimed as truth has set me free.