Mark Daniels has some good thoughts here about our freedom as Christians and our tendency to abuse it. He gives some good corrections to the practice of using our freedom as license.
credit: werkkrew.com
I’ve seen the “freedom as license” type of thinking much among my friends. I remember going to a party a few years ago that was hosted by a man in my church. He was a very popular guy and was highly respected in my circle of friends. When I arrived, I saw that they had MTV on as background noise. This wasn’t the problem per se; the problem was that the videos being shown were *highly* sexual. The scenes were pretty suggestive, and the women hadn’t finished dressing.
Needless to say, it was enough to rev up the engine of any fella with a heartbeat.
I asked him to change the channel, noting that there were people at the party that struggled with sexual addiction. He completely brushed me off. This really taught me a lot about him, and it was discouraging, for this wasn’t the first time respected folks in my church used their freedom as license.
Like Daniels, though, if I’m honest with myself, I’m in the same boat. When its convenient for me, I put self first as well. Thus, Mark’s post was a good correction to my sin as well.
It is unfortunate, but freedom as license is seen most commonly among those (including me) who teach the security of salvation.
Johnson C. Philip, PhD (Physics)
India
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Gret post Rich and thanks for linking us to Mark’s site.
Thank you both for linking to my post and for your good words on this important subject.
Blessings in Christ,
Mark Daniels
Great post, great link! This is a good reminder to be selfless and sensitive to each other. I think we all have the tendency of trying to justify our “recklessness” with “…there’s nothing wrong with it” syndrome.