Episode Details

The Burden of FreedomWhat is True Freedom? The word FREEDOM is often mistaken and misunderstood, and therefore, true freedom is rarely attained. Much of what we call freedom is only a corruption of our desire to have a license to live without laws and accountability. Freedom cannot be manifested without the assumption of responsibility and personal accountability. Freedom is a natural concept that is foreign to most human spirits. Freedom comes at a price! True freedom demands great responsibility, accountability, a spirit of stewardship, maturity, wisdom, and character.The journey from slavery to freedom is a difficult, though a necessary one. But as we take the journey, we must not leave behind the principles that help us to live a truly free life. Despite thousands of years of human effort  to achieve an enduring and stable state of freedom, most of humanity finds itself still enslaved to the bondages that hold it back and suffocate personal and national dreams.The human spirit was endowed by its Creator with the need to be free  to pursue its purpose and to experience the fulfillment that comes with maximizing its potential. Freedom is the pursuit of the human spirit. Every human heart cries and yearns for the same thing: a chance to fulfill his or her dreams and desires. Even the poorest man has a dream. True /prosperity/poverty is not a financial issue, it is a presence/lack of a dream. All humans possess the same desire - to be free to pursue the vision and dream in their hearts.Freedom was generated from the experience of slavery. This includes all forms of slavery and oppression. Freedom became a principal value in human experience as a powerful, shared vision of life - a response to, and result of slavery manifested itself in other forms such as serfdom and the roles of masters, slaves, and non-slaves. In fact, slavery did not produce freedom, but rather awaken this sleeping characteristic of human nature. Freedom is more difficult than slavery because it demands more of us than oppression demands. Free from – free to, (I Have To… – I Get To…).  It is important to understand that the concept of freedom was not invented by man, but for man. Freedom is not a Western or Eastern ideal. It is a biblical concept introduced by God Himself, as the very essence and purpose of man’s existence. Therefore, freedom is basic to man’s fulfillment and is critical to his sense of value. Oppression, suppression, and any other form of slavery or any attempt  to restrict the development and expression of the human spirit will always awaken the sleeping giant called freedom. This is why any form of slavery, whether by forced labor, ideology, a political regime, economic oppression, domestic abuse, or spiritual or religious oppression is the ultimate sin against the human spirit.The promotion and protection of personal liberty were the highest virtue of man. In essence, slavery does not destroy freedom, rather, it magnifies its presence and value. There are four types of freedom:Personal freedom- which gives a person the sense that he/she is not being coerced or restrained by another person in doing something desired, and the conviction that another can do the same.Sovereign freedom- the power to act as one pleases, regardless of the wishes of others, as distinct from personal freedom, which is the capacity to do as one pleases, in so far as one can. (Can God really do anything that He wants to do?)Civic freedom- the capacity of adult members of a community to participate in its life and governance. (Your personal freedom and civil rights should not hinder or infringe upon another’s).Natural freedom- this exists in the very nature of man, as a God-given right and responsibility established, from the beginning of the creation of man. It is the human right delegated by God to man in the first book of Moses, Genesis 1:26 Freedom or Free-Dominion is, therefore “the liberty to dominate the earth through one’s unique gifts and talents in fulf