In our blog post entitled Freedom Elements we outlined the Seven Freedom Elements. These are the core principles of freedom. 

One of those principles is Spiritual Freedom – I believe it is the most important of the Freedom Elements.

Today I would like to expound on that principle and how that freedom ties into our personal and patriotic freedom.

Without coincidence, this post is being written during the Holy Week (Easter) of Lord Jesus Christ, of which I consider myself a dedicated follower.

Let’s look at God and the principle of Freedom as it relates to Him…

How God’s Principle of Freedom Differs from Man

In the world today, we do not have to look further than the closet headline to see man’s pursuit of power.

It’s akin to a lust that cannot be satisfied. The pursuit will always require these individuals to have more because they are empty - and so is what they are chasing. It is a hollow pleasure.

A few examples:

A few weeks ago, we were on the brink of a banking collapse – and still are in my opinion.

The greed of our central and private banks has been corrupting our money system for years.

Between bad investments, low interest rates, money inflation, etc. we have seen power start to consolidate into the hands of the “powerful.”

This has been at the expense of the working folks. Power goes to those that control the money and they know that.

Politics in our country has NEVER been more toxic. It is becoming readily apartment that political parties (both) are willing to do whatever they can to get and maintain power.

They both claim to be doing it for the betterment of society, but for the intuitive it is easy to see it is selfishly motivated. There are very few exceptions to this.

They see it as a zero-sum game – they know you cannot have Freedom while they also have power. There has to be a deficit and they want that to be your Freedom.

This hunger and obsession over power has been at the expense of society.

Crime is at an all-time high, inflation is destroying livelihoods, families are being divided; and they seemingly do it all with complete indifference.

I’m sure they have convinced themselves that it is for the good of others, but that is simply not true.  

I have also found the idea of kings and royal families to be abhorrent.

It’s driven home each time I watch a Disney movie with princesses. You have a small modest town with town people that are just getting by. Then, you have this massive castle for the King. It’s exactly like the real world.  

How does this make sense?

This strong conviction no doubt comes from my passion and beliefs around the American Revolution.

Our founders knew the corruption around having a King. They knew that it was contrary to God’s will as it violates how Freedom can and should be delivered.

This is what American stands for – or at least what we used to stand for.

With the abundant prosperity that our country saw through freeing themselves from the crown, I am in awe that we desire to have such a large government with so much power and control.

This truth – the ideals behind the American Revolution - have not been taught clearly as the years passed and the principle of Freedom is nearly lost.

Parents have neglected to teach this to their children, and the school districts have been more than willing to fill that void with cancerous teachings.

Our sins of omission in this regard will not be without consequences.

The God of Freedom

Let’s now compare that with God and His aim for his children.

A perfect example of this is Galatians 5: 1, where it reads:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

What is freedom?

Freedom is the ability to progress, grow, and increase without restriction.

For us to have this Freedom there must also be the conquering of bondage. The bondage it is referring to is the death of our spirits and physical bodies.

As the scripture reads, we are being promised to be free through Christ. How can we truly be free if we are limited in our progress. How can we be free if we are enslaved.

This is the beauty of Christ and what His mission was all about. This is what we are celebrating during Holy Week - and every day hopefully.

Through Jesus Christ’s mission, he suffered for our sins so that we can obtain forgiveness. Then, on that glorious third day he arose from the dead.

These two elements are what conquered sin and death. It restored Freedom to God’s children.

Christ came to destroy anything and everything that would damn our progress. Again, as it says in Galatians: Christ hath made us free.

I believe this with every fiber of my being and profess to you that it is true!

Now, we must ask ourselves, if God and Christ wanted all the power, why would they try to make us free.

The answer is resounding and simple: They would not have done that!

If God desires control and power, and wanted to have it all to Himself he would have never provide a Savior for us. It’s that simple.

God’s goal is the absolute progress of his children and Jesus Christ is the way He did that.

Again, in Christ’s own words from John 8:36 He says:

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

I do not see any caveats to this statement. Not kind of free. Not a little bit free. Not limited freedom. It simply says, “ye shall be free indeed.”

That is powerful!

This is what makes Him the God of Freedom.

God and His Commandments

I have heard people ask the question, “if God really wants us free, why does he give us commandments that we have to follow? That doesn’t sound like Freedom.”

This covers what is perhaps my favorite aspect of freedom, and herein lies a powerful principle. It also really clarifies how God and man part ways in how they view freedom.

For this principle to make sense, think of children.

I cannot imagine what it would look like inside my house if my wife and I allowed our children to do whatever they wanted to do. No structure at all, just full “Freedom.”

I am sure they would eat junk food, go to bed late, wake up late to go to school or not go at all, there would be a great deal of fighting, stinky from not showering, cavities, etc.

At least they would have their freedom, right?

Now imagine as they get older, those decisions carry more weight and may turn to things such as partying (drugs and alcohol), uninhibited sex, flunking out of school or poor grades, technology addiction, etc.

Kids left to themselves may not go to the extremes as stated above, but there is no doubt that many of these things would be present in their lives. Some of these assumptions also assume that incorrect teaching of principle is also absent when they are given full Freedom.

What are some of things that can result from these behaviors above?

Poor or lack of education, unhealthy eating habits and physical condition, poor routines, lack of talent development, addictions from substance abuse, and sexual addictions or children out of wedlock.

To me, those outcomes hardly sound like freedom.

Giving children – of which we are all children in the eyes of God – full “freedom” before they are ready for it can be disastrous. Most of these issues would cause a lifetime of struggle and bondage.

Conversely, when we teach kids structure, that restriction helps them grow in ways that they can properly structure their lives for success.

Avoiding the bad decision that can cause a lifetime of destruction alone will cause abundant freedom.

We teach them true principles, and as they are ready, freedom is then released. They are then better able to govern themselves.

This is exactly how God works. He gives us very strict commands, and as we prove ourselves more is released to us.

He gives us commands because he knows it will take us to the desired outcome which is freedom, prosperity, and growth.

This is very different than man. Man as a whole does not promise this same kind of freedom. When have we ever seen those in power release freedom back to those they govern?

We are told it is for our good. If it’s not an increase of truth-base Freedom, then it is not for our good.

It is my belief that God is willing to give us all that He has, but we must be ready for it. If we are not, just as it is with our kids, that freedom would destroy us.

He is giving commandments so that we can gradually progress without limit and eventually realize perfection. That is ultimate Freedom.

You can see how different God is from man. Just as a loving parent restricts their children and are later willing to give them everything, God does this same thing but on a much grander scale.

He is all-knowing, and if we trust His will, wisdom, and love; we are going to reap abundant blessings and Freedom.

I don’t know about you, but I choose God’s path to Freedom and not that of man's!

Spiritual Freedom

Our spirit (soul) and our body make up the essence of who we are.

Our spirit is a creation from God. It lived with Him before we were born. Our physical bodies were created here to house our spirits during our mortal journey.

Our purpose for being here is to learn and grow. Our goal is to progress and become like our God. He is perfect and that is what he desires for us.

To do so we must conquer our spirit and our physical bodies.

Conquering our Bodies

There is a constant conflict between our spirit and our bodies. This conflict occurs because our spirit knows what we should be doing but our bodies are harder to convince.

It is easy, when it comes to our bodies, to be lazy or unproductive. It is because that is easy and requires no effort.

Conversely, to be productive takes effort and work. It doesn’t come easily, and because of that our bodies fight that urge to move and work.

One of my favorite principles of truth is fasting. Fasting is going without food or water for a period of time – usually about 24 hours.

This practice is just as much spiritual as physical. This allows our spirits to tame the desires of our bodies. If we can tell ourselves we are just fine and don’t need food for a period of time, then we gain strength to do this in other ways.

What other ways?

Exercising, abstaining from harmful substances, having a balanced diet, avoiding impure sexual urges, etc.

There is no doubt that a battle is taking place between our spirit and bodies.

When we feel that battel taking place it means our bodies are overpowering our spirit.

When we feel balance, we know that our bodies are controlled and being used for our benefit.

There is amazing power when our spirit and body are in cohesion and working together.

This cohesion is the desired result - not conflict between the two. Our bodies are powerful but only if they are mastered and controlled.

If we can have discipline over both, there is no telling what we can accomplish.

Conquering our Spirit

We just discussed the need to master our bodies, but what about our spirits?

How does one conquer their spirit?

To do this we must have truth as our foundation. If we try to master our spirits based upon incorrect truth, our efforts will haven been in vain.

We cannot follow something incorrect and expect proper growth – at least in the correct direction that is.

This truth is delivered to us by God. Period.

First, we must learn and understand these important truths.

Second, we must accept them as truth.

Third, we must act on it.

Fourth, we must stay consistent and compound our growth.

Spiritual growth is a lifetime pursuit - or more apply it is an eternal pursuit.

Our spiritual growth depends on our willingness to align ourselves with God’s will and act accordingly.

As we do, we are in better control of our bodies and spirit.

As we do this, we will find that the voice of God is better able to direct and inspire us in our lives.

It also declutters and removes anything that destroys our ability to hear and follow God.

The result is spiritual Freedom!

Freedom is the Answer

You know something is powerful when you see the world combining against that principle. This is exactly what we see with Freedom.

I believe it to be the most important principle there is. It should be our basis for every decision that we make.

To do this, we must seek and receive those truths from God. We cannot falsely follow teaching that are incorrect and expect to get the correct type of Freedom.

If we make Freedom our focus, we will find our lives refined and in line with God’s will.

This Freedom gives us abundant power to accomplish wherever it is that we desire to do.

Thanks for reading, 
Darron Rowley
Founder of Freedom Elements