If you can gain your freedom..

1 Corinthians 7:21 
“Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.” Paul the Apostle

There are times when it is tempting to give up, to accept that things are the way they are and there is nothing we can do about it.

There are also prophecies that declare that undesirable outcomes will one day come to pass. Consider the example of Jesus explaining to his disciples that he was headed for the cross. Peter responded ‘Never Lord’ (an interesting combination of words). Ultimately, he was rebuked by Jesus for having in mind the things of men instead of the things of God.

Jesus himself predicted that his followers would encounter wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, and persecution. Should we take note of Peter’s rebuke and do nothing to prevent the descent into the end times? Or should we cling to our role as salt and light and as Paul said, secure our freedom if we can?

What if we are the ones to witness a steady march towards a tyrannical one world government? What if we begin to witness the loss of cherished religious freedoms? What if our government is quietly co-opted by forces that intend to revolutionize our country and toss out its constitution and trample the concepts of human rights, private property, and equal opportunity?

Are we to accept all these developments because prophecy states that in the end times such and worse will occur? Should we just take solace in the hope that (as some believe) we will be raptured before things get really bad so it doesn’t really matter anyway?

Paul’s advice: “if you can gain your freedom, do so” contains great wisdom and a balanced approach that we would do well to consider.

In Paul’s day, not everyone had the opportunity to gain their freedom. Slaves in the Eastern regions could gain their freedom, where in the Western regions they were treated more harshly. Similarly, in our times not everyone has the opportunity to gain their freedom. There are oppressive governments where the people have few rights and where even speaking out against injustice can have severe ramifications.

But..in the USA we have a constitution that gives us the right, the responsibility to preserve our freedom for us, for our children, and for future generations (be they few or many).

Creating a sense of Inevitability is a stated goal and known tactic of the enemies of freedom. For example, Saul Alinsky in his Rules for Radicals states “Always remember the first rule of power tactics; power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.”

It may seem at times that the enemy has a foothold in so many places, more than you can hope to dislodge. Be careful to validate the strength of the enemy as you decide if it is possible to gain your freedom. Do the enemies of freedom have control of the minds of the masses thru media, the government officials by bribes and corruption, the world’s largest banks through concentrated ownership in the hand of the few? Perhaps they do..

But in the USA (as I write this) we do still have some freedoms. We should take our opportunity to regain and secure our freedom seriously. We still have a legally binding constitution, the freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, the right to assemble, and the right to dissent. We still have the power to vote, and the opportunity to ensure that our friends and family are aware of the risks to freedom in our time. Plato said “The price good men pay for indifference to political affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” It is time for believers to rediscover their civic duty to “select capable men and let them serve”. It is time to reject the cocktail party mentality that we should check our spiritual and political worldview at the door, that religion and politics are off-limits for polite conversation. It is not time to surrender or stick our heads in the sand, it is time to take Paul’s advice..

“If you can gain your freedom, do so!”