Freedom, Faith and the Ballot Box
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free…But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5 v 1 & 13
As I write this reflection it is just a few days before the elections take place on 7th May. Millions of people will get the chance to vote for their local councils in England and the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales, and by the time you read this article the political analysis and post-mortems on the performances of the parties will have begun. It feels like we are on the verge of the insurgent populist parties seriously challenging the dominance of the main three, but only time will tell if rumour becomes reality, and, if it does, how they will fare.
The Dilemma at the Heart of Politics
Election-time always causes me to reflect on the dilemma our human condition creates for politics. Put simply – we cannot live without freedom, and we cannot live with it!
The Bible shows us that we human beings are complex creatures. On the one hand, we are created in the image of God. God is the freest being in the universe. His personal name, revealed to Moses at the burning bush is YHWH, meaning 'I AM WHO I AM' or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE'. Later in the Exodus story, Moses boldly asks to see God's glory, to which God responds: 'I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, YHWH, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.' God is completely and utterly free and everything he does arises from this freedom - no power in the universe can force him to do what he doesn't want to do. This truth is echoed in Psalm 115 v 3: 'Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.'
Created for Freedom: The Image of God
One of the consequences of this amazing truth about the freedom of God is that, as human beings created in his image, we have an innate hunger and thirst for freedom ourselves. We therefore find it difficult to live in conditions where our freedom is limited for any length of time and even suffocating to live under long-term authoritarian or totalitarian rule. Such un-freedom somehow makes us less human. History shows that most undemocratic regimes eventually fall as human beings longing for freedom rise up to seize it, even at great cost to themselves.
And Yet, We Are Fallen
On the other hand, we are fallen creatures. We still bear the image of God, but it has been marred by sin. We therefore find it almost impossible to consistently handle the freedom we have in a wise and healthy way. Sadly, we seem unable to stop ourselves acting in ways that damage creation, other people, and even ourselves. Consequently, every society must have legal systems that limit the freedom humans have to cause damage and destruction, and penal systems that punish such behaviour when it happens. Some political regimes push this to such an extreme that freedom is so severely restricted that we call them totalitarian or dictatorships.
So, do you see the dilemma? Because we are created in the image of an infinitely free God, we cannot live without freedom, and we will rise up to fight for it when it is denied us. But because we are deeply fallen, we cannot live with freedom and are seemingly helpless to resist the urge to use our freedom in sinful and harmful ways.
Jesus Is Our Only Hope
Jesus is our only hope!
In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he outlines three approaches to freedom – we might call them Legalism, License, and Liberty.
Three Approaches to Freedom: Legalism, Licence and Liberty
Legalism says: 'You are not free to sin, and our laws will make sure you don't.' This was the Jewish approach in Paul's day.
License says: 'You are free to sin, so live just as you wish.' This was the Greek approach in Paul's day.
Liberty says: 'You are free not to sin, by the grace of Jesus and the indwelling power of the Spirit.' This was the Christian approach Paul was commending. The death of Jesus has dealt with our sin and guilt; the Spirit now lives in us and transforms us slowly but surely into the perfect image of Jesus, producing the fruit of the Spirit in us, and enabling us to progressively though not perfectly use our blood-bought freedom for good. One day, when Jesus returns, this transformation will be complete.
Praying for Our Elected Representatives
Of course, until then, because we are human becomings, works in progress, we will need to live in political systems and we need to pray that they hold the right balance between freedom and law. There are many factors and considerations to weigh as we decide where to put our 'X' on the ballot paper, but perhaps one of the most important should be how well each party seeks to strike this balance. May God bless our elected representatives as they seek to carry out this unenviable task – they need all the prayers they can get!
Every blessing,
Rev Rob
