Abuse of Our Freedoms

Last week, one of my brethren gave me an old church bulletin, in which there was printed a short article titled, “The Four Freedoms Abused.” Although the material in it was a bit dated, I thought that the points it made were very much needed at this time. I would like to present that article, along with some additional points of my own.

We have ‘Freedom From Want’

…and use it to eat ‘junk food,’ drink liquor and beer, and walk around half-clothed (or less). We are a part of an affluent society, rich by worldly standards, pleasure mad, our stomachs lavishly fed, and slow to learn that ‘man does not live by bread alone’ (Matthew 4:4)

People who live in second and third-world countries, who come to the United States are almost always amazed by the massive availability of food, clothing and other essential items. Our children have access to educational opportunities that are simply not available in many other parts of the world. Even the poorest Americans enjoy a lifestyle that is unimaginable in much of the world. As one immigrant put it, “The United States is a place where you can shape your own destiny and rise above the circumstances into which you were born.” This is a freedom that most Americans take for granted and fail to appreciate.

We have ‘Freedom of Speech’

…and use it to curse, lie, backbite, tell filthy jokes, to protest against law and order in the land, speak disparagingly against civil government ordained by God (Romans 13:1-7), to cry out for ‘Civil Rights’ and ignore ‘Human Rights,’ and give ‘lip service only’ to the living God of the Universe.

Freedom of Speech has been used as an excuse to subject our society to all kinds of filthy language lewd behavior. It is a big part of the reason why our land has been flooded with a tidal wave of sexually explicit language and imagery. Christians must be on their guard at all times, in such an environment (1 Peter 5:8).

We have ‘Freedom of the Press’

…and use it to print filthy magazines, obscene literature, horror and moronic ‘comic books,’ atheism, infidelity, communism, and anti-American books, to conduct ‘gossip columns’ about someone’s fifth wife or husband separating in Hollywood, and the vicious sex crimes being committed (Galatians 5:19-21).

We are now living in what is being called the “Information Age,” which is characterized by the widespread availability of all kinds of information. This is both a blessing and a curse, because so much of the information available on the Internet, on television and in printed media is inaccurate, or downright false. On the one hand, it is a great blessing to live in a country where the government is not allowed to censor the information that is available to the masses, but on the other hand, it is a curse to live in an age when unscrupulous people will publish anything they want to—whether it is true or false. Now, more than ever before, Christians need to “Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

We have ‘Freedom of Religion’

…and use it mostly as freedom from religion. We make a feeble effort to practice James 1:27. We ‘forsake the assembly’ for our own pleasures. We withhold from the Lord by refusing to ‘give as we have been prospered’ (1 Corinthians 16:2). We use Sunday evening for relaxation and pleasure and Wednesday evening for TV (Hebrews 10:25). Some will fight wars for ‘freedom of worship’ and refuse to worship when they return home.

Of all our freedoms, this is the one that we abuse the most.

Most of the first Europeans who came to America did so because they were looking for a place where they could worship God without the looming specter of persecution they faced in their home countries. Thus began America’s long and rich heritage, as a nation of people who sought, above all else, to live in harmony with the will of God. There was no other place on Earth where the movement to restore New Testament Christianity could have been as successful as it was here. As one of my former instructors used to say, “Gentlemen, we are warming ourselves by fires build by other men.”

Today, it seems that so many of us have forgotten our religious heritage, or have simply taken it for granted. Although we have the freedom to worship and serve the Lord, as the Bible teaches, the majority of Americans are uninterested in exercising that right. Although this freedom was purchased and defended with the blood of many legions, many Americans seem to think that it is worthless. Even though we are presently engaged in a struggle against powers that seek to take all of these freedoms away from us, we go on abusing them anyway.

When shall we learn to value the treasures we have?

Hopefully, we will not wait until they are all gone.

(By Russell M. Kline based on an article by J.T. Marlin)