Freedom sounds so wonderful! To be unencumbered, exempt from any constraint, to do anything with ease.  But in fact, freedom is only a state of being within yourself. 

Psalms 82:3-5 makes an interesting declaration, “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy; deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness.”    We need to defend and deliver these even if they don’t know or understand that they are in bondage. Can we be in slavery and not even know it?

If you lived in a dictatorship country, but you agreed with all the rules they imposed, it wouldn’t be a hardship to live there. You abide by those rules anyway so you continue to live your life as you were comfortable doing. But what if you moved to a country that was considered free? You would suddenly feel burdened and out of place because the rules you followed are not recognized in the new place. Even though you were now considered living in a free country, you did not feel free.

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) By knowing truth, you have freedom from darkness and just stumbling about.  It’s like a light that shines on your path so you can walk with confidence.

But true freedom is a state only you can define for yourself. Stress can be chains that keep you from being free. Guilt, terror, and unforgiveness can all steal your freedom. Your job, relationships, or time can also make you feel tied down and constrained. Anything that you feel you do not have control of, most likely you feel it has control over you. Paul said, “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” (Rom 6:18) Being set free from sin in wonderful! But if, in your understanding, becoming slaves of righteousness is legalism, you have traded one bondage for another. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

So true freedom really is about you choosing what you want to be in bondage to.  “For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship…. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more.” (1 Corinthians 9:17-19)  If you choose to submit yourself to something, you are still walking in freedom in yourself. Saint Patrick was taken from his homeland and placed in slavery in Ireland, but when he escaped he willingly went back into slavery and returned to Ireland. The first time he was in bondage, the second he was actually walking in the freedom of his choice.

Freedom is a state of being in your own self. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)