True Freedom

Freedom is fully realized by choosing properly between good and evil.” (Theology of the Body for Beginners, Christopher West, p. 23) Freedom is not doing whatever you feel like without regard for others or even yourself. That is licentiousness. Action can only be called truly free if it remains within moral and logical bounds. Two examples will explain this better: I am free to draw a circle, but I am not free to call it a square. “We are free to do whatever we want with our bodies but we are not free to determine whether or not what we do is good or evil.” (ToB for Beginners, p. 23)

Many people today feel they can do whatever they want. They think because God gave them free will, they are free to live their lives however they choose; there is no right or wrong way to do something. Well, if that were true, then according to Chesterton, Christianity must be false because: “You cannot evade the issue of God … defending [Christianity means] talking about anything or everything. … Nothing can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is true.” (For the whole quote, see my Intro to Chesterton post.)

Since God gave us free will we have a responsibility, as Christians, to live our lives as examples and to show others what it means to be truly free. When you choose “properly between good and evil”, you are happy. And others will notice that. Hopefully, by your example you will encourage others to live like you.