A very wise man once said “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

Those words are worth reflecting on as we celebrate the Fourth of July. We have much to be grateful for in our country. Freedoms and opportunities that our ancestors could only dream of!

That same wise man also said ““The greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility.”

Life and freedom require God, truth and responsibility. And here is where many ‘freedom loving’ folks start to get squeamish. Words like ‘truth’ and ‘responsibility’ begin to sound like the opposite of their ideal of ‘freedom’.

But it doesn’t take long to see that our culture isn’t ‘free’ in the truest sense of the word. We have exchanged the freedom that is found only in Christ for a culture of subjective truth that shuns responsibility. We have exchanged ‘freedom’ for instant gratification and unchecked relativism.

Here’s an example; it is a popular mantra to say ‘I just want to be happy’. But that personal happiness often times comes at a cost; ‘I’m not happy in my marriage, so rather than work at it, I’ll shop for another mate.’ Or, ‘Kids aren’t what I need in my life right now’ and an awful decision is made that impacts not just the life in the womb, but future generations that are snuffed out. This is what freedom without truth and responsibility looks like.

John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Truth precedes freedom. Anything less is at best a shadow against the brightness of the truth of the Gospel.

Truth and freedom. Celebrate them both this Fourth of July. Grateful for where we have been, intent of working for a better today and hopeful for a brighter tomorrow.