Nearly all the world's religions have some basic tenet of caring for our neighbors. I ran across a quote this morning from Eugene Peterson, a fellow Montanan and Christian who died recently. He said, "Freedom is a delicate and subtle gift, easily perverted and often squandered."
How often recently have we witnessed people of all persuasions using "freedom" as an excuse to foster hatred, rioting, looting, prejudice, or even just refusing to wear a mask? None of these things, whether done by the Right or the Left, show "Love" to our neighbors.
Who is my neighbor? You may ask, the very way someone asked Jesus this one day. He told a story many of us know of The Good Samaritan. What most have forgotten is that to the Jews who were his audience the Samaritans were the Enemy with a capital E. To tell them this was their neighbor was a challenge to their whole belief system.
I often see bumper stickers that say, "Freedom Isn't Free." And I absolutely agree. Freedom is actually beyond price. It cost Jesus his life. But he's also the one who said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Are we remembering that one of the prices of freedom is responsibility?
No comments:
Post a Comment