A Totally Free Society?

You cannot force people to do the right thing in a free Society. You can ask them to do the right thing. You can pray they will do the right thing. You can scold them for not doing the right thing. You can reward them for doing the right thing. But you cannot force people to do the right thing in a free Society.

We must be willing to ask ourselves if we want a free Society. If we do, we must be willing to allow others free choice even if it means bad choices. That is the sadness of a free Society. Laws are made to ensure the one man's bad choice does not ruin the life of other men or of the society itself. Punishment ensues to protect the validity of the law and we are governed. When the law is allowed to be disrespected it becomes invalid.

I heard a person say once "Your freedom ends where my yard begins." In a perfect Society it would be so. In a totally free Society it would not.

Grace gives people the right to do the right thing based on the love and provision of Christ. However it does not force them to accept the love and provision of Christ. Grace extended includes forgiveness as well as the right to move on from a bad choice, sometimes a hurtful choice. He forgives us and we forgive others. Then we start living as the Spirit directs us.

But first we must learn to hear the Spirit speak. For that we must stop listening to all other voices for a time. That is the hard part. Few people will put forth the effort in this noisy, crowded, entertainment driven world. And so we become subject to the noise of opinion.

The opinions of man get clouded and confused. And we have to ask ourselves again "What is freedom?" Do we want a truly free Society populated by people who disagree with everything that is important in our mind and heart. What if the laws that are made by this Society are against everything I believe in?

Once more we are directed to Grace and forgiveness and the need for restoration and for that we need the guidance of the Spirit. Where does it end? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control can break no law. That is not something you do, that is the result of being Spirit led. But when that becomes you, don't expect the world to applaud and respect you. The world cannot understand that behavior. And that is where we become truly free regardless of the society we inhabit.