Freedom Seldom Used
Philippians 1:20-21 I am full of hope and feel sure I will not have any reason to be ashamed. I am certain I will continue to have the same boldness to speak freely that I always have. I will let God use my life to bring more honour to Christ. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. To me, the only important thing about living is Christ.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that as society becomes more polarised, as (for instance) traditional family values are not only increasingly being marginalised but expunged altogether from the public square, it’s becoming more and more difficult simply to speak your mind; to say what you hold to be true.
One response is just to go with the flow. Others dive down into the rabbit warren of conspiracy theories. Or we can whinge and complain about the erosion of free speech which, after all, should be a basic human right.
There is, however, another approach. Whilst under house arrest in Rome, the Apostle Paul wrote this:
Philippians 1:20-21 I am full of hope and feel sure I will not have any reason to be ashamed. I am certain I will continue to have the same boldness to speak freely that I always have. I will let God use my life to bring more honour to Christ. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. To me, the only important thing about living is Christ.
Despite his circumstances, he’d been transformed through his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus years earlier. So rather than capitulating or complaining, he’d thought things through and decided to be bold; to speak freely about Jesus because, thinking about it, he’d concluded that that was the most important thing.
As 19th Century theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, it’s all too easy to demand freedom of speech as a substitute for the freedom of thought, which we seldom use.
Think it through, be bold, speak freely of this Jesus who came to save the world.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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