Freedom Is Not Free

What makes us different and unique amongst one another? I believe it is the degree and direction our hearts are pointed. I still do not understand it, but I feel deep inside my heart the drumming of war, the sharpness of swords, the cries of freedom, and the triumph of victory. If you could only imagine having the swelling motions of victory crying out for the oppressed as a young child, I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought to interpret yourself a soldier and fighter for peace. If you continued to follow your heart’s calling as the eyes of the downtrodden looked to you as a leader and you joined the military to fight for their cause, I would think of you as noble and courageous. If in the most gruesome of wars your heart shouts to stand in the middle and erect the banner of truth and light, putting your life before others, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that flag still standing. Conflict scathes us all and brings out the worst and best we have to give. But do we have to wait for battle to be tested, though we are in a war?

Before we came to earth we were in the middle of the war that began all wars—the war between Satan and Christ, freedom and bondage, good and evil. This could not have been a war of swords and shields, for, we were spirits and could not be slain. We fought with words, with teachings, with principles, and with power and authority. But in our spirits is a heart that governs the direction we go regardless of the conflicts about us. Some of us fought more valiantly than others (on either side) and some did more to shun away and avoid the tenacity of battle. In this great conflict hearts were misguided and even lost forever in darkness. Ultimately Satan and his followers lost the battle and were cast down from God’s land, even heaven, forever. As we celebrated and triumphed over the victory we all understood that the war was still not over—we had to finish it on Satan’s territory, even hell itself. So we came to earth, Adam leading before us, Christ slaying the dragon and death itself, and us driving Satan and his army back to outer darkness forever. We are tested everyday where on the battle front we stand. But do we have to wait for battle to be tested, though we are in a war?

It is imperative that we understand what the meaning of freedom really is in that we are able to make personal choices without compulsion. Compulsion is defined as the action or state of being forced to do something. One of the defining differences between God and Satan is exactly that God allows us the agency/freedom to make our own choices while Satan attempts furtively to force us to do his will. If we mix these two together, we can be sure to be lost and confused for the entire duration of this war(which often is the case with the apathetic). Knowing this we only have to ask ourselves if we truly desire to be free, if we desire to be in bondage, or if we do not care at all (in which case the latter leads directly to being put under bondage anyway). I am certain the majority (if not all) of us desire freedom and do not want to be in bondage. The question then lies with how we fight to obtain it. Freedom is not free; it is bought with a price. We cannot be naive to our situation; surrounding all of us are the forces and hosts of the enemy thirsting for our blood, waiting to test us to see if we really want to be free. But do we have to wait for battle to be tested, though we are in a war?

Apathy is the worst kind of death there is. Instead of dying and letting your body nurture the soil of the earth, you continue to walk as a decaying corpse of lifeless values. It is also easier (for me) to love someone who hates me than someone who cares about nothing. A man caught in the bind and web of jealousy and hatred can be freed. But tell me, how do you free a man who voluntarily walks as though his hands and feet are shackled, yet, there are none? How do you shake a man loose from the web of lies and deceit that surround us all when he couldn’t care less if he were caught in it or free from it? How do you motivate a man to care when he doesn’t even care to care? Today is Independence Day, but I fear that we have grown more accustomed to celebrating this holiday with barbecue, games, and fireworks rather than understanding what it means to be free. We speak of freedom and profess our love for it, but our words grow dry as the true meaning remains in the blood of sacrifice. We do not have to join the military and give our lives to understand freedom (in fact I am afraid that even some of our soldiers are beginning misunderstand it); we only need to participate in the battle. But do we have to wait for battle to be tested, though we are in a war?

It’s not on this day we should remember the blessings of freedom, it’s everyday. I’m sure we have heard the saying that a man doesn’t know what he has until he loses it. But we don’t have to wait to lose our freedom; we don’t have to wait for the battle to come to us. If we do wait, it will be too late. We are in a war and we do not have a choice about that. But we can choose where we will stand already knowing that Christ and His royal army will stand victorious in the end. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve: … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) and be free. It’s not enough to love freedom, we have to crave it and breathe it in. Without going into unnecessary detail I only bid that we remember that some of the greatest nations in the world fell merely because they took for granted their freedoms and allowed pride to satisfy that hunger. Fight! There is not other way. Make the choices you deem necessary that you may stand in peace in the midst of this war. I testify that one cannot understand freedom without being set free first (through the Atonement of Jesus Christ). One cannot be set free until he sees himself in bondage. One cannot see himself in bondage until he recognizes the war. One cannot recognize the war without choosing to do so. I love my country and for what it stands. I will always be a soldier in God’s army because I KNOW what freedom feels like. Let us not wait for the battle to come to us (because it will whether we want it to or not); let us unite ourselves in the very cause that bred this mighty nation under God, even the United States of America!