Three Sticks — Something for Everyone

I have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks contemplating freedom and what it means. Although it seems obvious freedom in the modern age can be a difficult concept to grasp. There are 2 basic types of freedoms. There is “freedom to”, which describes the freedoms that you possess such as the freedom to say what you want or eat what you like. There is “freedom from”, which includes the freedoms that protect you from harm ex. the freedom from oppression and tyranny. These freedoms are what determine the ultimate quality of your life, but where do they come from?

In the The Matrix Reloaded, Morpheus states that “everything begins with choice.” Likewise, each of these freedoms is built upon choice. Whether or not you assert your freedoms and take control of your life is up to you. I know that there are those who would disagree with me because they would argue that your situation determines what your choices are and there is some truth in that statement. However, I would counter that argument by reminding them of the thousands of people who overcame their situations sometimes by making use of the 8 Mental Laws. Your willingness to make choices and set your own direction is the overriding force that determines the quality of your life.

If making choices provides the foundation for freedom, how did we obtain the ability to make choices? The simple answer is that God gave us the great gift of being able make choices. We typically referrer to this gift as the gift of free will. In the United States freedom and free will are so intertwined that they from the backbone of the Declaration of Independence the document that describes what we want this country to become. Opening sentence of the second paragraph begins with

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In our modern understanding we would exchange the word Rights for freedoms. However it is evident that this nation is built on the idea the our creator is responsible for providing reason for being that enables us to assume the rights (freedoms) of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The document is itself an expression of the collective free will of men from the original colonies who have chosen to defy the then most powerful empire in the world in order to ensure their own continued freedom.

I am continually impressed by the magnitude of this gift that God has given us. In order to protect us from ourselves, he could have chosen to make it impossible for us to defy him or to commit acts which would separate us from him. Instead he gave us the choice to worship, follow and stay attuned to his will. Think about that in the context of your own life. Imagine if you could make it impossible for your child to get hurt, but in order to do so you would have to take away the spontaneity and liveliness that made your child unique. What would you do? Would you hold yourself accountable every time your child hurt themselves if you allowed him to be himself and possibly get hurt?

The Bible is full of men and women who disobeyed God and suffered for it. Just to name few:

• Adam
• Eve
• Moses
• David
• Solomon
• Saul

All of these people were God’s favorites who he used to perform great works. However, each of them through their own choices fell from God’s favor. Even with their fall, God still loved them. He allowed some of the most important people in history to make mistakes that forever changed their history and the history of the world. His gift was so important in his eyes that he allowed the course of history (and possibly his plan) to be altered by the choices of men and women. It’s simply amazing.

Each of us have been endowed with this spectacular gift. So why do we let our circumstances stop us for doing what we want or becoming the kind of person we want to be? We have all made excuses, you know what I mean:

• I’m to busy to go to my child’s soccer game
• I can’t start a business, I need my current income
• I don’t have enough time in the day to do whatever it is that is important to me

These excuses are only a symptom of us abandoning our greatest gift. All we need to do is remember who we are and what we have been given and then our circumstances will not appear so overwhelming. If 13 loosely allied state that lack every material of war including an army and navy could beat the most powerful empire in the world, you can overcome your own challenges and have the life that you want

Take some time today and think about the life that you want and make the choice to embrace the ultimate freedom.

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