Are You Wasting Your Freedom?

We have recently celebrated Memorial Day, a day we set aside to remember those who have sacrificed everything for our freedom. This is a very serious day and we all should have stopped in some way to honor our soldiers and their sacrifice. However, for some people, I wonder if this is actually a waste of time.

Hear Me Out

Before you you get upset with me, listen to what I am saying. Hear me out. I think you will understand…and possibly agree.

We celebrate the freedoms earned by the deaths of those in service of their country, yet many never even take advantage of these very freedoms! We thank our current service men and women for their service, but too often we take for granted the freedoms they provide.

Let me ask you a question. Think for a minute before you answer this question. Be honest with yourself.

Would your life be dramatically changed if it was suddenly illegal to practice your faith?

What Would Change?

As you think about this question, consider the following questions. Would you suddenly have to stop witnessing to others or is that not something you do very often now? Would you be forced to stop reading your Bible every day or is that not really a habit of yours? What else in your life would have to dramatically change to comply with this new (hypothetical) law?

What about your business practices – would they have to change if exercising your faith became illegal? Do you currently leverage your business for ministry purposes? What about your business would have to change to comply with this new law?

I am sure some of you are thinking we are already seeing some signs of this change in our country. Maybe, but that is not my point. Others are saying they would simply refuse to comply with a law like this. I understand, but neither is that my point.

Freedom Of Faith

People have died to preserve our freedom to exercise our faith. Wives have given up husbands and husbands have given up wives. Children have given their parents and parents have given their children. All of this has happened so WE can continue to have the freedom to exercise our faith.

Yet, too often, we are not living out this freedom! We have the freedom to practice our faith in the marketplace, but many do not. We have the freedom to witness to others around us, but many do not. We have the very simple freedom of being able to own a Bible and read it whenever we want to…but still many do not.

I wonder how I would feel if I was one of the many who had died to provide these freedoms. If I was then given the opportunity to look around and see how those freedoms were being handled by Christians today, would I be proud of my sacrifice or frustrated by it? Would I be willing to go through it all again or would I wish I could have a do-over?

Maximize Your Freedom!

Maybe some of you think I have taken this too far. If so, I apologize. In NO WAY do I want to minimize the sacrifices of our soldiers. Instead, my desire is to light a fire under any Christians who are currently taking their freedoms for granted. I want to see a world where followers of Christ are living out their freedoms to the greatest extent allowed.

Personally, I think the greatest opportunity for seeing growth here is in the workplace. I believe Christian business owners and leaders need to step up and quit taking these freedoms so lightly. We celebrate Memorial Day and rightly so. Now let’s live out the freedoms that were paid for by the sacrifices of those we remember.

What freedom are you taking for granted?

What change do you need to make?

Are you ready to step up?

Photo by Leigh Prather/Shutterstock