Clear boundaries not slavery but freedom

I must be very naïve. If most of the people live like the dysfunctional guests on daytime televisions talk shows, then I am really not in touch with how most of America thinks and lives.

The strange is has become the norm on these shows. The live audiences on these various shows really give a round of applause when these people spill their story. It seems that the weirder the scandal, the more the audience gets in to it.

Some time ago, I was pressing the remote control on the television going from the QVC home shopping channel to Fox News to the HGTV network. In the process, I happened upon one of these shows. Flashed across the screen of the television was that day’s topic: “They Say They Want to Be Free!” That caught my attention so I listened.

First, there was a young girl who was caught up in the street scene in downtown Los Angeles. She was addicted to cocaine and the dangerous area in which she roamed lent itself to trouble. When asked by the host why she continued to subject herself to that kind of environment and potential trouble she replied, “I just love my independence. Nobody tells me what to do or when to do it. I just do my own thing.”

Next they switched to a rebel teenager who ran away form home at 12 years old. His parents joined the show by satellite. The pleading and begging of the youngster’s parents in an attempt to get him to come home fell on deaf ears. His response was disrespectful and rude. “You have no right to tell me how to live my life. I alone have the freedom to do that.”

Then there was the estranged couple who was reunited on the show. The woman though brought along the man she was now “involved” with. She left her husband and their three children for another man. She proceeded to explain her reasoning for leaving her husband and children: “It is only in my new boyfriend that I have found real freedom to let me be me.”

When I as growing up, I was not allowed to do exactly what I pleased and today I am thankful for that. Early on, I was taught that there are certain ways to behave. My parents were the authority and God was the authority over them. So that was that — the parameters for behavior were well known and recognized by me. It is funny though. I never felt like I was in bondage. I felt loved.

I heard someone tell about an old Montana rancher who raised championship horses. He made a good point about freedom. He noted that young colts left without restraints and boundaries will wonder off into danger and potential death. That is why they go to such trouble to erect fences.

Could it be the same with us? When are under Christ’s control and when the boundaries are clearly defined, then we have real freedom. Jesus said: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32). Trusting and obeying Christ gives us true freedom — freedom from shame, from the chains that bind us to sin, from the thoughts of empty self-worth and from the dread of death. That is true freedom.

Judy Brandon is a Clovis resident. Contact her at: [email protected]