It is generally thought that freedom and boundaries are two contraries. The notion is if there is freedom, then there are absolutely no boundaries, and if there are any sorts of boundaries, then it is no freedom at all. However, true freedom is exercised in the confines of three indispensible elements.
1. FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY:
A life of freedom without any responsibility mocks the very process and the effort that was put in to attain that freedom. It not only cheapens the effort that achieved the freedom, but also inevitably brings the person back into slavery. For instance, if there is a young man who is brought into financial freedom by his father’s hard work, and he begins to use the money irresponsibly, he is not only making light his father’s efforts but sooner or later will get into a financial bondage. This same truth pertinently applies to Christians. We have been set-free from the bondage of sin by the great sacrifice of Jesus, and with this new life of freedom comes responsibility. When we fail to live responsibly, we make a mockery of what Jesus has done and end up in slavery.
2. FREEDOM AND ACCOUNTABILITY:
One of the ways freedom is sustained is through accountability. The moment accountability is shunned freedom is in danger. For example, as long as Adam and Eve were under the authority of God, they were free. The minute they rejected the authority of God, they were no longer free. This truth is vividly illustrated in the story of the ‘prodigal son.’ As long as he was under his father he was free, the farther he went from the authority of his father, the deeper he was in the pit of slavery. And yet, as soon as he returned to his father, he was free again. In the same way, a Christian will be free as long as he lives under the authority of God. The second he gets out of it, his freedom is under threat.
3. FREEDOM AND MORALITY:
Today freedom is understood as, “doing whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want.” A person who lives with this kind of a philosophy will not only encroach on other’s freedom but also end up enslaved by the very pleasure he pursues. The only way to maintain freedom is by living within a moral frame-work, which is given by God. The Israelites were freed from the Egyptian bondage but to help them continue to live free, they had to live according to the moral law given by God. In the same way, a believer must live according to the truth of God’s word which, not only sets us free but also keeps us free.
By Vineeth Kumar