I was troubled yesterday with an article I read in the local newspaper concerning ” Morgan Spurlock. Mr. Spurlock gained fame a few years ago with his McDonald’s bashing documentary “Super Size Me.” I don’t recommend the movie simply due to the profanity it contains.
But I’m not here to talk about the movie. I want to discuss Mr. Spurlock’s actions at a high school in PA this past week where he spoke to about 700 students. According to the news article, Mr. Spurlock not only made fun of teachers, mentally challenged students and McDonald’s employees, but he also found it appropriate to use the “F” word several times – to the applause of the young audience.
When asked about his need to use profanity, he replied, “The greatest lesson those kids learned today was the importance of free speech. I didn’t talk to them the way most lecturers do and bore them. I made an unaccessible topic accessible and left the room with more friends than enemies.”
Numbers 4:27All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the diBefore I go any further, I don’t consider Mr. Spurlock to be a born-again Christian, so I obviously don’t expect him to be lead by the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, we live in a world where there is a segment of society that is preaching this “freedom” to our young people. It’s actually been going on for nearly half a century in our culture.
When I think about freedom, biblical freedom, the first thing that comes to my mind is the exodus of Israel from Egypt. We’ve all seen the Ten Commandments and we know that the Hebrews had been slaves for 400 years before God used Moses to free them from their captivity. When God fees you from slavery, that’s real freedom.
But the story didn’t stop with the freed Hebrews leaving Egypt. To the contrary, as quickly as they are freed they were given laws to live by, thus the Ten Commandments.
But the story didn’t stop with the freed Hebrews leaving Egypt. To the contrary, as quickly as they are freed they were given laws to live by, thus the Ten Commandments.
And God didn’t stop with just ten. The Jewish law was written over many of the following years as a means for the people to live at peace and with freedom. And with God’s commands, an interesting word keeps appearing.
9:31A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with the responsibility for baking the offering bread.
1 Chronicles 15:22Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.
As we can see, with freedom comes obedience to law. And with obedience to law, comes responsibility?
Without responsibility, freedom doesn’t last long. When I begin to abuse my freedom, I then lack responsibility. And when I am irresponsible (a word that extreme liberals seem to have omitted from the English language) I begin to tear down the very fabric of life that gave me freedom to begin with.
As a Christian, as a child of God, I am not only free, but I have responsibilities. God has given me freedom, talents and gifts. Yes, I’m free from the law of old, but I’m also responsible for my actions. I’m free from the law, but I’m responsible for living a godly life.
And when I abuse that freedom and act irresponsible, I endanger what God has given – not that I would loose my salvation, but that I subject myself to God’s chastise and rebuke.
And remember this – Jesus Christ was as free as you and I do what He wanted. However, he chose to be responsible – not only for Himself but for you and I. Because of His desire to follow God’s heart and to sacrifice Himself, He became responsible for our salvation.
I encourage all believers to enjoy their freedom and to share that freedom with others. However, I also encourage you to understand what responsibility means, not only for ourselves but for those around us.
Live free – responsibly.
Your son,
Jody
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