Freedom

Many years ago, Janis Joplin made the claim that "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose." I suppose that's one form of freedom, perhaps even the purest form, but it isn't the best form.
Our nation's founders stated that they believed that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Obviously, there are some curtails on our liberty; the government can't allow my right to liberty to infringe on your right to life, no matter how much I might want that. By the same token, your right to pursue happiness should not be allowed to infringe on my right to liberty. I would hope that any of us who celebrated the Fourth of July were reminded of that (Do they have the Fourth of July in other countries? Of course they do, they just don’t celebrate it).
Jesus said that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free. We have a freedom in Christ that is like no other. Even then, there are consequences to our freedoms. Apostle Paul said that all things are lawful unto me, but not all things are expedient. There are some things that I have the freedom to do, but that would eventually hurt me, or hurt those around me. I have been commanded to love others as I would love myself, so I have to mindful of how my actions impact other people. I could, of course, learn to love myself very little, and then not have to worry about others, but, no, I don't think that’s how it’s supposed to work. God loves me, and He thinks I'm worth loving, even though sometimes I don't understand why. He expects me to love myself, too.
At the same time, we are told to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God. Wait, what about my freedom? I still have my freedom, but there are consequences for exercising my choices, if they are not wise choices. God doesn't expect us to be robots, blindly obeying His every command; He wants us to obey His commands out of love, respect, and trust. If God knows what’s best for us, doesn't that mean that what He commands is going to be better for us than what we think of by ourselves? Keep in mind, He can see the big picture; we can't. He knows exactly what we are capable of, and how much help He is going to have to give us in order for us to perform that which He asks of us. We, so often, get caught up in thinking that we can't; it’s too big, and we forget that what ever got wants us to do, He's going to help us with. Nothing's too big for God. There is a lot of freedom in that, believe me.