Freedoms and Responsibilities

The Fourth of July gives us the opportunity to celebrate our freedoms, but the other side of the coin are the responsibilities that go with freedoms. Paul White of Appreciation at Work addressed these freedoms in a recent blog:

The freedom to live where we want.
The freedom to choose our vocation.
The freedom to speak our minds freely.
The freedom to gather in groups publicly.
The freedom to choose our religious beliefs.

Although we could get into a great discussion about how absolute these freedoms are and how they are limited by socioeconomic circumstances, I want to respond to this question that White asks: “What responsibilities go with the freedoms and rights that we have?”

I would suggest first is the responsibility of citizenship. This involves obeying the laws, paying our taxes, accepting civic responsibilities (voting and serving on juries), and serving our community as volunteers and in military service. Again, these are not absolute, as I will note below.

A second responsibility is to be informed about what is happening in our community and nation. When we speak, we should know something about the issue we are addressing. This requires us to know history, to seek credible sources of information, and to avoid accepting superficial or biased reporting without careful consideration.

A third responsibility is to hold our government and its leaders accountable. Sometimes this requires questioning the law through public demonstration or taking legal action in court. It certainly includes voting for those whom we believe will govern best and to be willing to stand for office as appropriate.

A fourth responsibility is to pursue our religious beliefs in a way that guarantees the free exercise of faith or lack of faith for all people. This means that when our beliefs differ from those of others, we seek to understand as well as to be understood. This also means that when a person chooses not to believe as we do, we allow God to work in their lives as God will, rather that shaming, intimidating, or coercing them to follow our beliefs.

This is hard work because there is no real freedom without responsibility. The founders of the United States of America struggled with that tension. They did not always get it right, but they took the first tentative steps. We follow along that same tenuous track.

Comments

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist. I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age. I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving. This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students. We supported missionaries at home and abroad. We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course). I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition. Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect. There were significant...

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself. The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church. Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs. What once worked no longer seems to be effective. Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educa...

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor. He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.” In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.” Jesus turned this around. In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner. His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced. He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality. These are metapho...

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church. On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter. Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year. He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability ...

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business. For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates. He has already left the church and resigned from the board of t...

Barnabas File

Search This Blog