"It’s a Free Country, Isn’t It?"

Galatians 5:13-15

Independence Sunday + July 1, 2012

Reverend Dr. David C. Brown
Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ
400 Glenwood Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37404

Jean Jacques Rousseau in his 1761 book, “The Social Contract,” made this startling declaration: “Man is born free – and everywhere he is in chains.” Rousseau was right. Human beings through all our long history have been born not only with the capacity, but also the desire for freedom. Why is it, then, that the vast majority of human beings since the beginning of time have been, in fact, born free but become slaves? Human slavery, political slavery, economic slavery, religious slavery and all the other forms of slavery have blighted the human condition. Why have some people – nearly always men – had the power to force others to do their bidding? Throughout history philosophers, historians, theologians, psychologists, and sociologists along with many ordinary people like you and me have struggled to find the right answer. What is the reason for human slavery? Even more important, how can we end it? I believe I have found the answer, but before I share that answer with you I want us to remember a few of the many struggles for freedom in human history. . .

- The thundering words of Moses to Pharaoh on behalf of the enslaved Hebrew people: “Let my people go!”

- The revolt of the Roman slave Spartacus and thousands of other slaves. In the Roman Empire at least a third of the people were slaves. This slave revolt was only briefly successful but it terrified the rich and powerful slaveholders for the rest of Roman history.

- The revolt of Protestant Christians against the religious tyranny of the Roman Catholic Church. We are sitting here today because of the success of that revolt.

- Our own American revolution which established more than a new government but also a new vision of what human life was intended to be. In the matchless words of Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The struggle for freedom from slavery of Black Americans in the bloody conflict of the Civil War whose 150th anniversary we are now beginning to remember and celebrate.

Yes, Rousseau, you were right. All through human history men and women born free have found themselves, through no fault of their own, shackled with the chains of slavery. Many have sought to throw off those chains, but almost as soon as freedom is achieved, new chains are forged. Why does this happen? Why is there slavery at all? Most important, what can we do to end slavery in our own time?

At the beginning of this message I told you that I believe I know the reason for human slavery as well as how we can end it. The answer is found in the words of Paul in his Letter to the Galatians (5:13-15):

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not destroyed by one another.”

This passage is so rich in meaning. Paul begins by reminding his readers that they are free. As he says earlier in this fifth chapter of Galatians: “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) As the last verse of the hymn with which we began our service reminds us, God is the author of our liberty. Freedom is not simply a human desire, but the divine intention. God wants all people to be free and it is God who inspires the struggle for human freedom. That truth reveals the lie of every slaveholder in history. You may think you own slaves but God intends them to be free.

Why, then, if God intends human freedom has there been slavery in the past and slavery today? Paul, the supreme realist, says that we have the gift of freedom, we can use that freedom to indulge our human desire for selfishness. All people are born free with the capacity for doing good, not only for themselves, but also for others. We are also born with an equal capacity for selfishness. Paul says that all of us must struggle against that desire for self-indulgence and seek opportunities to be of loving service to one another. To be truly free means to act responsibly for the good of others or we will destroy ourselves.

Erich Fromm, one of the greatest psychologists of the twentieth century, escaped from Nazi Germany in the 1939’s. He asked himself how people could blindly follow Hitler and his evil desires. In his own way, Fromm would have agreed with Paul. Human beings are born with the capacity for freedom but they can respond in two different ways. We can use our freedom to joi8n others in creating a world of decency, compassion and justice for all or we can channel our freedom in three destructive ways that offer false promises of security.

- Authoritarianism in which we submit our lives into the control of some person or system. The best examples of this are Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia.

- Anarchy in which we become so frustrated with the way things are that we try to destroy what we cannot bring under our control. I believe a contemporary example of this kind of anarchy is the American radical right. While they call themselves “conservatives,” they do not want to preserve our society with all its faults and weaknesses but rather to destroy as much of it as possible in the vain hope that a new America can be built out of the rubble.

- Conformity in which we blindly accept the beliefs and values of others and call them our own. This allows us to avoid genuine free thinking because anything that departs from the norm is too upsetting to deal with. To me this seems to describe those who tell us not to confuse them with the facts because their thinking or believing is already determined. I have found this sort of conformity in ultraliberal and ultra conservative religion. Their extreme faith cannot be challenged.

I believe that Paul would agree that Fromm has described what he would call self-indulgence or that old-fashioned word, the “flesh.” When we surrender our lives to authoritarianism, anarchy or conformity, Paul says that we will end up biting and destroying one another. Doesn’t that describe what is going on in America these days? The answer that Paul offers is that we should love one another more. It sounds s simplistic. It’s too pat. We’ve heard it all before. Perhaps we have, but hearing is not doing.

If we as Americans want to preserve the freedom that we have inherited from the past, not only preserve but enlarge it, we must learn how to love one another more than we do right now. We have to love all our sister and brother citizens and do our best to make their lives as good as they can be. To me this means. . .

- adequate medical care for all Americans.

- a good education for all our children.

- a social safety net that will catch all those in need.

- an economy that provides a decent living for all Americans, the 99% and not just the 1%.

Our nation faces many challenges today but if we run away from our freedom and all the responsibilities that come with it, I don’t believe we will be celebrating many more Fourth of July’s. Taxed Enough Already? No, we haven’t been Transformed Enough Already. Now is the time, a critical moment in our history. God help us to make the right decision and may God bless America. Amen.