Freedom

Freedom is the absence of forcible constraint on actions which do not violate the rights of others.

In the film "Easy Rider" the lawyer said to the hippie words to the effect of; "They don't even want to know there's such a thing as freedom!  They'll attack you, because your freedom reminds them that they're slaves of the chains of conformity forged by their own hands!"

The purpose of freedom is to create it for others.

Tempted to cheat on his wife in the movie "Fatal Attraction," Michael Douglas finds himself right on the border between being master of his desire and committing an act that would make him its prisoner.

Freedom is a package deal - with it comes responsibilities and consequences.

"We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread.  They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  (Viktor E. Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning)

We must be anchored in self-discipline if we are to venture successfully in freedom.

"If you continue in My words...you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  (John 8:31-32)

The irony of the gospel, of course, is that the more you submit to the authority of Christ, the more radically free you become.

Related YouTube Link:

 "Freedom" (Richie Havens) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-d5x-CiTUs