Freedom

Note: this is a part of a series on the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. You can find an outline of the series with links to the articles here.

Human beings are limited and even sinful. Niebuhr spoke eloquently to these limits. However, Niebuhr also constantly reminds us of the goodness of human beings and their amazing created potential as created by God.

The Transcendent Freedom of the Human Being
Niebuhr did not believe that human beings were “timeless” creatures. Humans are ethnic and family beings. The determinists have recognized these factors and explained them well, but they overplayed their hand. Humans are also capable of transcending their own time and place.

The self is a creature, but it is also creator. It has freedom to act differently than it has before. Compare this to the animals. They always form the same culture. There is no ability to transcend their nature and look beyond it. Continue reading “Wisdom from Niebuhr: The Greatness and the Weakness of Human Beings”

[Listen to an audio version here]

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other (Galatians 5:13–15).

If we are free, why should we have to serve anyone?

This question masks a common misunderstanding of human destiny. Human destiny is not to live as isolated individuals. It is to live as a community that works together to accomplish amazing things, blesses everyone, and glorifies God. This is what we were made for, and this is how we flourish.

On the other hand, if we are not free, then we cannot develop our potential. We cannot serve other people well or freely. Coercion is not conducive to cooperation.

So, there is irony here. We have to become free in order to be able to serve. Paul expressed this irony in 1 Cor. 9: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Cor. 9:19).

It is only when we are free that we can truly serve. It is only when we serve that we can build a community that thrives rather than destroys. So, how do we use our freedom to humbly serve one another in love? Continue reading “Freed to Serve”

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