Question 15 – Doesn't faith in God mean a loss of freedom?
Many people keep their distance from Christianity not because they don't believe in God, but because they're afraid of losing their freedom. They fear they'd have to go to church, pray, forgive, or love those they want to hate. They worry they would have to give up many addictions, pleasures, hobbies, or even friends. Some of these fears are justified, while others are not. As you might sense, the concept of "freedom" needs to be explained and clarified more thoroughly. It is certainly worth clarifying what this oft-debated Christian "lack of freedom" really involves. I am convinced that there are many nonsensical and untrue notions circulating in our society. These are fueled by media, films, and also by those who consider themselves Christians but, in reality, know very little about Christianity or have no desire to follow Jesus Christ. The question itself contains a significant misunderstanding of the true meaning of freedom. Is the definition merely "doing whatever I want"? Certainly not! Not even those who accuse Christians of losing their freedom live by this definition.
We are all born within the territory of a state that has thousands of specific laws that we must obey. We must not kill, we must not steal from others, or harm them. We can't conduct business without permission, build houses without permits, insult people, or infringe upon their rights. We cannot abuse our children or cheat on our spouse. On the contrary – we must pay taxes and stop when the police pull us over. We must obey traffic rules. We need to be careful if we work in a chemical factory... there are many other "musts."
If we ignore all this, we might lose our lives in an accident at work or on the road. We could be fined or imprisoned for not paying taxes or ignoring public officials. The house we built without a permit will be demolished. If we hurt others we may face a lawsuit, at best and at worst, we might be harmed by their friends. If we abuse our child, we will ruin their life and ours with a jail sentence as well. If we cheat on our spouse, we both carry a scar in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
Do you understand? Even in this most general sense, no one is "free." All of us must respect a great many commands and prohibitions that enable our existence and the development of civilization. Adhering to certain rules and boundaries is therefore absolutely essential and desirable for a meaningful existence.
Let's illustrate this with other examples. How about soccer/football? Do you play soccer by taking the ball in one hand, an iron rod in the other, and running with it towards the goal? No? Do you play by the rules? Then you are voluntarily being "tied" in order to enjoy the game. You voluntarily accept many rules and are glad for them – without them, you wouldn't be able to play. The rules give meaning to the game, protect all participants, and allow it to exist.
What am I trying to say by all this? Nothing less than this: even God's laws, decrees, and principles have their clear purpose. Either way – the core of Christianity is not primarily about rules. First and foremost, it is about faith, love, and a relationship with God. Observance of God's laws is then (or should be) a consequence of this relationship.
What are Christians bound by?
If you're wondering what you'd be "bound" by if you became a Christian, I want to give you a simple answer. The answer left to us by Jesus Christ.
"'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)
Elsewhere:
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them." (Matthew 7:12)
Jesus expressed a very important idea. The entire system of commandments and principles is about one thing – love. If you love God, you will desire to spend time with Him, seek His unique presence, look for His will in your life, want to know more about Him, and desire to be with those who have the same desires and goals. Without even realizing it, you will automatically fulfill many "commands" without it feeling unnatural (you will have prayed, read the Bible, attended services, etc.).
If you then love others, you will fulfill even more commandments. If you truly strive to love others, then you won't want to lie to them, deceive them, steal from them, exploit them, hurt them, kill them, slander them, hate them. You won't destroy the property of others, nor the nature God gave us to manage. On the contrary – you will wish them well, show them love, and want the best for them. You will respect life and others. You will love… THIS IS CHRISTIANITY.
Hidden Slavery
Some people fear that if they became Christians, they would have to be faithful to one partner, couldn't "kick up their heels" whenever they wanted, and couldn't lustfully look at others and "undress them with their eyes." Yes, indeed. But the question is, what is right? What aligns with love and what aligns with selfish lust? It makes me wonder – who really is the slave here?
Allow me to present a very provocative statement by Jesus, which many find offensive.
"Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." (John 8:34)
Dear reader, in reality, you are a slave! A slave to your "wants". No one is truly free. People are slaves to their desires, sexual perversions, pornography, nicotine, alcohol, slaves to the pursuit of wealth, slaves to the fear of "what will happen to me?", slaves to the desire for fame, recognition, careers. Can you easily quit cigarettes, alcohol, pornography, fear, the race for financial security, health, the perfect physique, etc., without any problems? No? Then you are a slave! You are not free.
In this sense, Christians are slaves, slaves of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul was not afraid to refer to himself in this way. According to the Bible, a person chooses. Either they "enslave" themselves to God by living a life of love, or they enslave themselves to their desires, to their fears, to the world that strongly influences them, and also to God's enemy – Satan (even if unknowingly). According to the Bible, there is no neutral ground.
For this reason, the question: "Won't I lose my freedom if I become a Christian?" is unjustified from a biblical perspective. A person cannot lose something they do not have. And conversely, a person does not need to fear being a "slave" to love, a slave to God.
The commandments and their meaning
Finally, I would like to mention one aspect of Christian commandments that I consider very important in discussions on this topic. Although it is implicitly derived from the conclusions above, I want to emphasize the so-called protective function of many of God's commandments. God prohibits murder, and it hardly needs extensive explanation as to why. Let's take a somewhat milder example. Perhaps the command "You shall not commit adultery." Infidelity is a popular and widely tolerated phenomenon today. In some circles, it's even recommended to spice up or strengthen a relationship. Why does God insist on something like this? Why does He want us to have one partner and be faithful to them for life? Or, let's ask differently – what happens when we violate this commandment? Broken hearts? Resulting depression? Disappointment and loss of trust in anyone? Broken families? Destroyed relationships? Alcohol addiction? Suicides? A twisted and deformed upbringing of children, leading to defiance, drug use, etc.? I am not making up these examples; they are a sad reality for many involved in adultery.
Disobeying God's commandments often leads to death, pain, and injury. Sin continues to swell, grow, and consequently bring many other negative consequences. God's commands therefore have a deeper meaning than it might seem at first glance.
Summation
The life of a "slave" of Jesus Christ is the freest place for a person.We can indeed be free from ourselves.People who raise these objections often do not realize they are not free themselves. They are slaves to their passions, bad habits, addictions, and their ego.