Freedom- for what?

"You can be anything you want to be".
"I'd like to be a duck"

So the gag went on a skit show. It shows how ludicrous the claim is. What is strange is that we've swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

A lot of people see freedom as removal of all restraints. That's the holy grail which everyone pursues.
But it is unobtainable. Let me explain why.

Our life is full of constraints. We were born into a certain family, at a particular point in history with unique body shape and genetic defects. Try as you, you cannot become a duck. You are a human who exists at a certain point of time and space. So is freedom a myth? Perhaps.

You see, the original concept of Freedom depicted by John Stuart Mills begins not with an abstract concept, but the reality of where we live. The goal was individual freedom, but not for the purpose of following your own path. There was a recognition of individual responsibility. Judith Brett argues that consumerism has pushed away from life as it is towards life as we would desire it to be (the abstract ideal).

So how does this help?
Well, we're not free to be whatever we want (like a duck), but we are able to become what we are meant to be- fully human.

Of course, to achieve this, we need to overcome some major  obstacles. Our propensity to make poor choices, addictions and more importantly, our confusion about what a true human looks like.

The true human reflects God on earth (we're image-bearers). Of course this is done with restrictions (ie we're not God). But when we recognise that humanity can display God's character and merciful rule, now we know how to live.

Often people think, "Our freedom is curtailed by our responsibilities" But that's not right. Responsibilities, goodness and circumstances do not curtail freedom; they are the conditions under which freedom operates, the tracks along which freedom runs.

Freedom is not the goal. To be truly human is. Our life, in relation to God, other people and the environment is where I comprehend my life. True freedom for this reason is found in Christ.