Last Friday I turned on my car radio at random and heard a talk show host say in all seriousness, "The government is trying to take away all your money. And when it does it's going to give most of it to the UN." He went on to present the American government as positively dangerous to the people's health. Soon a listener phoned in and thanked the host for opening his eyes to what our government is really doing. My thoughts went immediately to the trial in Denver where Timothy McVeigh had just been declared guilty of bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He believed our government had become a predator of the people. For proof he pointed to the Branch Davidian incident as exhibit A. This is the first time a home-grown terrorist has targeted a large group of American citizens. One wonders how much these talk-show purveyors of hate contributed to the Oklahoma tragedy.

In a few weeks we will be celebrating Independence Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That document sets forth the right of freedom for citizens and independence for the nation. The Constitution in its First Amendment further defined that freedom to include religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to seek redress of grievances against the government. On the other hand, it says nothing explicitly about using these freedoms responsibly. It does provide, however, for power to punish irresponsible actions in so far as they are criminal. Maybe that's because you can't legislate reliability; you can only punish liability. But by implication it does tell me I have to be responsible enough not to interfere with the right to free speech that our constitution guarantees to that talk show host. I cannot squelch his freedom. I can only ask, "How shall I use my freedom responsibly?"

The biblical message about freedom says a lot that both Christians and non-Christians need to hear. It asserts that freedom is created by the truth that comes from the one who is the Truth. Freedom works only so long as it is motivated by love and guided by respect for the value of each individual. Thus freedom has a moral structure. Whenever it breaks loose from its moral moorings it is destroyed by the storms of individual caprice and national power struggles.

When Moses led the Israelites to freedom from Egyptian slavery, he brought them to Mount Sinai, where they entered a covenant of obligation to God and His commandments. The Decalogue formed the heart of that covenant. It expresses the rights and dignity of God and of all people. It commands respect for personal property, truth, marriage, right conduct in the sexual realm, and life. This respect is freedom's responsibility. Without it, freedom cannot endure.

The New Testament doesn't speak of political freedom. But it lays the foundation for that freedom by insisting on the equality of all people It promises to people of faith a God-given freedom from sin and the demonic, from the restrictions of a rigid law, and from the fear of death. But freedom is not real unless it is freedom for something. It speaks of this freedom as a transfer of allegiance from sin to God, to righteous living, and to becoming willing slaves in deeds of service to other people. Paul said, "For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them" (1 Cor. 9:19). I like Martin Luther's striking way of stating this truth, "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." The New Testament decrees responsibility by teaching servanthood. Paul explains the moral meaning of freedom. saying in 1 Cor 10:23 - 24 "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other." This is how we are to use our freedom. This orientation of life, being a loyal slave to God and serving people requires us to seek what is beneficial for the other person consistent with Divine teachings.

That still doesn't solve the problem of those who use their freedom to promote unsubstantiated accusations and thereby to propagate misunderstanding and hostility. All of them believe they are doing something beneficial for those who follow them. The rest of the people don't count. But we as Christians have to maintain our own integrity and work to promote a more objective perception of reality. We are to be salt and light to our world and pray that our nation can get through this period of history without further unspeakable tragedies. To paraphrase George Burns, "Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs, cutting hair, or making more money than the president hosting talk shows."

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