The kid in the school system wants freedom to give up on mathematics, escape the school rules and not be told what to do for a while. The university student wants financial freedom, career freedom; independence to be an adult. The parent of both wants the freedom of single life again, a night off from the kids, the option to spend all of their money on themselves. The fulltime workers want to be outside of the daily grind, with more than four weeks of holiday, and self-directive work.
But beyond these things, all categories of people want freedom for pleasure; freedom to govern oneself without having anyone to condemn or be answerable to. Don't tell me how fast I can drive, or what I can drink or where I can go or when I'll be home. We are committed to responding to our insatiable desire for satisfaction and pleasure. A midlife crisis hits when, after a series of decisions that could easily have gone either way, we have moved too far down the flowchart and feel trapped, smothered, caged.
The classic definition of freedom is the complete absence of rules. On the surface it seems to make sense, but you don't have to push this idea very far at all before you see it splitting at the seams. A fish does not want freedom from water, a train cannot have freedom outside of the tracks that it runs on. Traffic on the roads would be impossible with this level of freedom, the legal system would fall apart and 'crime' would become an ambiguous concept. No matter how right freedom sounds as a parameter for our own lives, it's not ultimately good in the ultimate sense.
Even if we want some kind of cosmic over-ride switch so that we can choose any option of enjoyment presented to us, ultimately we need something beyond ourselves like road laws or water. It's possible that the first commonality of our paradigms informs the second. That is – the uncertainty in our governing philosophies has produced in us a construction that seems right on the surface, but is lacking foundations.
More than reckless abandonment, what we need is a set of guiding principals that are both structured and very good. Our kneejerk reaction to being told what to do is keeping us from a pleasure that is safe and ultimately best. Until we can accept a loving authority that has our best interests at heart, we will be cars without breaks, trains off the tracks and skydivers without parachutes; falling in shortsighted freedom.
Jesus is a King who rules with perfect love and lays His life down for His people; His rules are good and in Him is freedom.
Sam Manchester is a University of Sydney graduate interested in Sociology and Ethnography. He spent a couple of years living and studying in London, but now is home on the North Shore enjoying Sydney's arts and social scene and seeking out the future studying theology.
Sam Manchester's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/sam-manchester.html