Rather than freedom being at ability to do “whatever we want”, thinkers like Augustine has posited that real freedom is the ability to choose to do good, to avoid sin – to put it another way – to obey God!
PICTURE: Hal Gatewood/Unsplash
At first glance this sounds stupid! How can freedom be obeying someone? Then it hit me.
Imagine a football team. What if every player did whatever they wanted? It would be chaos!
Assuming we could get them to at least obey the rules, such a team of individuals would go nowhere.
Rather the team that obeys the coach; achieving things beyond their dreaming! They win premierships; they reach their potential!
A good coach gives players autonomy within their responsibility – but what a radical view of freedom, obeying the coach!
Is it true in life? Real freedom is found in obeying the coach!?
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au.
