I remember going to college for the first time and being scared. I was scared of the unknown and about not knowing anything about what to expect. I didn’t have any friends that had experienced college and I had only visited a couple of universities. The one thing I was looking forward to was freedom.
We tend to think that freedom is the ability to do what we want, to be who we want to be, and to go where we want. Often, that is the case but just as often we realize that a complete lack of parameters doesn’t actually make us as free as we thought. It tends to trap us in the paralysis of indecision or the uncertainty of a life without boundaries.
Tim Keller said, “Because a fish absorbs oxygen from water, not air, it is free only if it is restricted to water. If a fish is ‘freed’ from the river and put out on the grass to explore, its freedom to move and soon live is destroyed. Real freedom is finding the right restrictions.”
True freedom requires saying no to certain desires and yes to other desires. I love bacon cheeseburgers. However, if I give in to that desire EVERY day I won’t see many more days…at least not as a healthy individual. My wife recently lost about fifteen pounds (not that she needed to) as the result of her commitment to setting boundaries in what and when she eats. What desires have you given into that aren’t benefitting you or the fulfillment of your purpose or goals in life?
FREEDOM TO LIVE
The second stanza of The U.S. Declaration of Independence begins, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Human beings of all ethnicities, ages, geographic locations and socio-economic statuses have a right to life.
If you hope to enjoy your freedom, you must embrace certain parameters that will allow you to thrive. This means that in seeking to be free we have to remain in line with objective standards (.i.e. not taking the life of another human) that facilitate living and living in harmony with one another. Therefore, no freedom should impede the ultimate freedom we all share which is to live and pursue the purpose for which we were created.
FREEDOM TO LEARN
There is a reason that the concepts taught in first grade are less advanced than those taught in second grade. Learning is a process. It involves a certain progression where, much like in the construction of a house, each level is built upon a strong foundation. Although access to a complete and thorough education is not ubiquitous we are all free to learn as we live.
Every experience is a teacher. Even the bad experiences are teachers. As they say you can either take it as a loss or take it as a lesson. The fulfillment of your purpose requires you to learn and build upon both the lessons you seek out intentionally as well as those that life decides to teach you along the way. We need to set goals within the day regarding the time we’ve dedicated to learning or improving in an area that will help us facilitate the completion of our purpose. If we don’t, we may end up squandering our freedom and remaining stagnant or unfulfilled.
FREEDOM TO LEAD
Are you a leader? If so, do you provide those under your charge the freedom to lead in their area of gifting? Once again, freedom doesn’t mean free reign to do as one pleases. It means freedom to excel within the prescribed boundaries instituted for the health and success of the person, group or organization. Without prescribed boundaries, the other leaders will guide others in various directions as opposed to the singular direction of achieving the collective objective.
In this “I want to do what I want to do” time that we live in, some people have confused the freedom to be unique with the perceived freedom of setting their own rules. In a game or a society, if everyone doesn’t play by the same rules, someone will get cheated, abused or neglected. As Vince Vitale notes, “It is our knowledge of the start, the finish, the objective, and the rules of a game that provide us with the freedom to play it and to enjoy it in a meaningful way.” Therefore, leadership in any area of influence should be carried out with clear boundaries that apply to everyone, including the leader. In this way everyone will have the freedom to lead and the potential to excel.
Please click the links at the bottom to share this on social media!!!
SIGN-UP TODAY TO HOST A WORKSHOP!!!
https://www.alexrmcelroy.com/bookalex/
Comments are closed.