Limited versus unlimited freedom
Limited freedom sounds like “true lies,” an oxymoron. And yet, orderly society is not possible without limited freedom. We are kept from chaos by many laws and rules. What will happen to traffic if everybody suddenly ignores all traffic rules? What will happen to safety if everyone suddenly violates laws against murder and theft?
Limited freedom gives the best kind of freedom; unlimited freedom destroys freedom by creating chaos. When people practice limitless freedom and break the law, they lose their freedom by going to jail.
As children grow up, they want more and more freedom – to do as they wish. Parents apply the brakes, preventing the vehicle from bursting the rails and going over the cliff.
When young people become independent, their conscience and common sense take over from the parents, dictating how much freedom, and what kind of freedom, they should allow themselves.
At that time, they should have learned the truth about limited and unlimited freedom. People who demand limitless freedom for themselves will bring much pain and calamities on others and on themselves. Think about the results of limitless freedom in sexual or aggressive behaviour.
The Ten Commandments of Moses and the Great Commandment of Jesus put limits on our freedom for our own good. They show what we should and should not do to have a happy lifestyle. People who grew up with those rules of conduct have a compass for steering their lives successfully.
The preamble of the Ten Commandments show that they do not save us, but flow from salvation already received.
The first command forbids worship of gods other than Yahweh. The second forbids the making of idols. The third forbids blasphemy; and the fourth forbids work on the Sabbath. The positive side of these limitations is that they steer us into meaningful worship of the one true God.
The fifth command forbids revolt against parents (and other authorities) and so keeps us out of trouble. The sixth, seventh, and eighth commands forbid murder, adultery, and theft.
Their positive side is respect for the life, marriage, and property of others, resulting in peaceful coexistence.
The ninth command about speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) prohibits all forms of dishonesty in social life and in courts of law. One exception: revealing secrets to the enemy of one’s country is treason.
The tenth command forbids coveting anything that belongs to others, and thus encourage contentment with what we have.
Jesus summarized the Ten into two: love for God and neighbour. In practice it means treating others as you want to be treated, and avoid treating them as you don’t want to be treated.
By limiting the sinful self, the good self can flourish. Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.