Corona and Freedom
We are currently in the middle of the strangest time I have ever experienced in my life on earth – and I’ve been around for a little while. A tiny virus, invisible to the naked eye, has shut down the world! The results of this (almost) world-wide lockdown have been varied, with both positive and negative responses. On the negative side we have seen more than the usual number of deaths around the world, people live in fear, we are limited by “social distancing”, and virtually every country’s economy is on its knees. We have yet to see the damage that has been done to businesses, income, wealth, travel and even health.
But there have also been, almost ironically, some positive spin-offs so far. The streets are quieter, very little rush-hour traffic, life is less rushed, we are forced to re-evaluate our priorities, families are spending more time together, there is much less pollution in cities, and a host of other things that may help us to hit the restart button to hopefully a “new normal” once this is all over.
I’ve been intrigued by the reaction to government measures around the world. There is, not unexpectedly, a whole range of responses, from simply accepting the lockdown to outrage that “our human right to freedom is being violated”. This made me think about the concept of freedom (read “human rights”), which certainly must be understood as coming with certain limitations. For example, my freedom does not allow me to take another person’s life. Our right to freedom is limited by our responsibility to behave in ethical and moral ways, respecting other people’s freedom too.
This is true in the spiritual realm as well. Recently we celebrated Easter, emphasizing that Jesus came to set us free – free from the guilt of sin, free from condemnation and free from legalism. But this kind of freedom is not a license to sin, as Paul reminds us we “were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh” (Galatians 5:13; see also 1 Peter 2:16). Christians are saved by God’s grace to experience the freedom that Christ brought and bought (“If the Son has set you free you shall be free indeed” John 8:36). But this very freedom is limited by grace, since our understanding of God’s grace compels us to stay away from the contamination of sin. Our freedom from the bondage of sin sets us free to love, serve and worship Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
May this freedom-robbing-virus-time help us to fall more deeply in love with Jesus!