The Limits of Freedom

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”​—Goethe.

FREEDOM! What a ring that word has. But what does it mean to you? Does freedom mean that you have the inalienable right to do as you please, when or where you please, without regard for other people? Of course not! Limits are placed on your actions by lawmaking bodies to protect the rights and interests of others. Is this not vitally necessary when people live together as a community?

For example, you may have the freedom to travel, but you can operate your vehicle only within lawful limits. These limits, or laws, were established as a protection not only for others but also for you. Therefore, true freedom does not mean immunity from all restraint, discipline, and sacrifice; neither does it mean the absence of laws that are right and beneficial. Interestingly, Black’s Law Dictionary defines freedom this way:

“The state of being free . . . without other check, hindrance, or prohibition than such as may be imposed by just and necessary laws and the duties of social life.”

To enjoy freedom, we must live our lives within two boundaries​—natural laws and moral laws.

Physical Laws Limit Man

It is impossible for any human to have total freedom even if he isolates himself on a tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean. The natural demands of his body and his dependence on the environment would impose limitations on his freedom. The Creator, Jehovah God, has established these natural boundaries and has established others by means of his laws and principles.​—Acts 17:26-28.

God put in operation physical laws that keep the universe in marvelous harmony. These laws work for our good. For instance, do you feel tyrannized by God’s natural law of gravity? Of course not! It is the necessary force that holds the universe together and keeps you from flying off the earth.

However, what if you deliberately were to ignore the law of gravity and jump from a one-hundred-foot cliff? You would fall to your death or else be severely injured. The result: not freedom but an increase in limitations. We cannot slight physical laws without paying a penalty. Yet, when we work within their limits, we reap the benefits.

Laws to Limit Behavior

About 300 years ago, the English philosopher John Locke summed up what you may have discovered about freedom and human law. He wrote: “Where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others, which cannot be where there is no law; and is not, as we are told, ‘a liberty for every man to do what he lists [wishes].’ For who could be free, when every other man’s humour might domineer over him?”

How appropriate those words are when applied to human laws that limit harmful conduct! If man sees the need for law to govern social behavior, would not his Creator also have seen that need? Are we to think that God would cause physical laws to come into existence but leave mankind without laws to guide his conduct? Not at all.​—Matthew 6:8.

The Creator’s laws for mankind are written down and preserved so that we can know the best way to handle our affairs. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) Of their quality, The Bible in Living English says: “Jehovah’s instructions are unerring, life-restoring; Jehovah’s lessons are trustworthy, enlightening simpletons; Jehovah’s mandates are acceptable, gladdening hearts; Jehovah’s commandment is honest, brightening eyes.”​—Psalm 19:7, 8.

A person trying to live free from all proper moral limits is like a ship that has lost both compass and rudder. Both are adrift and must find a safe course or face disastrous consequences. This, therefore, raises a serious question. Can we safely navigate our life independently from God?

Independence From God​—Why Not?

“I’M LOOKING for excitement.” “I’m sick and tired of being told what to do!” “Get off my back!” Expressions such as these may indicate a spirit of independence. Sometimes these words can even be heard coming from the lips of Christians.

How may Christians be infected by the spirit of independence, even independence from God? Usually it begins by adopting a distorted view of Jehovah God’s requirements. (Psalm 73:2, 13, 14) They see God’s laws as fun barriers, rather than as protectors of their enjoyment of life. The glitter and glamour of the ungodly world has fooled them into believing that they are missing out on pleasure. What about you? What are your feelings about independence from God?

An Age-Old Problem

The wanting of independence from God is not new. It is almost as old as man. The spirit of independence was introduced by Satan the Devil. He deceived the first woman, Eve, into thinking that she could be happier if she were only free from her Creator’s guidance. Eve believed that such an independent course would open up for her many eye-opening experiences and pleasures withheld from her by God.​—Genesis 3:1-5; Revelation 12:9.

With eyes blinded by her newly formed selfish desires, Eve appealed to her husband to join the rebellion. Adam chose independence from God too. The result: Sorrow replaced happiness. Sin, shame, sickness, pain, and death followed, not just for Adam and Eve but for all their offspring as well.​—Genesis 3:6, 16-19; Romans 5:12.

The Bible records that angels, too, decided to follow the path of independence from God by seeking illicit pleasure with the ‘good-looking daughters of men.’ Did such an independent course bring genuine satisfaction? No. Rather, it produced so much gross immorality and violence that Jehovah determined to destroy that world of ungodly people. The independent angels became demons, who now promote this same destructive spirit of rebellion among mankind.​—Genesis 6:1-7, 11; Ephesians 2:2; Jude 6-12.

The Need for Divine Guidance

The foregoing facts should help us appreciate a basic truth: In order to have a successful and delightful way of life, man must depend on God for guidance. That is one reason why the Bible says: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) The ancient wise man Solomon recognized the danger of setting up personal standards for life independent of divine guidance. He wrote: “There exists a way that is upright before a man, but the ways of death are the end of it afterward.”​—Proverbs 14:12.

Let us illustrate this point in two ways. If all the commercial aircraft pilots ignored the directions given at airports and landed their airplanes at any time or location they pleased, how safe would air travel be? Or if a group of construction workers threw away the blueprints and each decided to do just as he fancied with his part of the construction, what type of building would result? We understand that standards must be followed if any orderly society is to exist.

No one is better qualified to provide these guidelines than the Creator of man, Jehovah. By reason of his Creatorship, Jehovah God, not the creature, man, has the absolute right to set the standards by which his intelligent creatures should live. He knows our limits; he knows exactly where the boundary line between happiness and sorrow lies. (Acts 17:26, 27) Time and time again, the experiences of life prove that God’s way really works. It is the best way for us.

We do not have to guess what Jehovah’s standards are; he kindly tells us in his Word, the Bible: “This book of the law should not depart from your mouth, and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, in order that you may take care to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful and then you will act wisely.” (Joshua 1:8) The apostle Paul explains how all-embracing God’s standards are. He wrote at 2 Timothy 3:16, 17: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”

Jehovah invites us to test his standards, ‘to prove to ourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’ (Romans 12:2) Of course, to do this properly, a thorough study of the Bible is necessary. Whether we are new to Bible study or have been studying God’s Word for decades, the goal of gaining accurate knowledge and insight into God’s will is important. If we fail to train our perceptive powers by using them, we will not keep Jehovah’s guidelines in clear focus.​—Hebrews 5:14.

To ignore God’s standards is to invite disaster. There are just too many obstacles that a person has to cope with for him to succeed on the basis of his own understanding. First, a person has to contend with the subtle superhuman influences of Satan and his demons. (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:12) Then there is the worldwide human system of things imbued with the spirit of disobedience and extreme selfishness. (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 2:15-17) And, of course, our own imperfections and deceptive heart-inclinations have to be fought. (Psalm 51:3-5; Jeremiah 17:9, 10) So to live without Jehovah’s guidance makes about as much sense as it does to ride in a car without a steering wheel.

Jesus Christ is the best example of someone who appreciated divine guidance. Although perfect, he said of himself: “The Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he beholds the Father doing.” (John 5:19) Jesus did not live to please himself. On another occasion he said: “I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:28, 29, The Jerusalem Bible) Do you desire to be guided by the same standard Jesus Christ acknowledged?​—1 Peter 2:21.

Value of Accepting Divine Guidance

Jehovah is “the happy God.” (1 Timothy 1:11) He does not want to rob us of wholesome pleasure, excitement, or happiness. Think for a moment about the plainly stated words found at Romans 1:28-32. The results of independence from God bring only bad consequences, for the account states, according to The New English Bible:

“Thus, because they have not seen fit to acknowledge God, he has given them up to their own depraved reason. This leads them to break all rules of conduct. They are filled with every kind of injustice, mischief, rapacity, and malice; they are one mass of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and malevolence; whisperers and scandal-mongers, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent new kinds of mischief, they show no loyalty to parents, no conscience, no fidelity to their plighted word; they are without natural affection and without pity. They know well enough the just decree of God, that those who behave like this deserve to die, and yet they do it; not only so, they actually applaud such practices.”

On the other hand, those who choose to follow God’s standards are encouraged to put away their old personality with its independent spirit and substitute for it a new Christlike one. The new personality includes becoming kind, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving. (Ephesians 4:20-32) And it is one that manifests the fruits of God’s holy spirit: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.”​—Galatians 5:22, 23.

After taking a good look at both personalities, what sort of person are you? Which of the two would you prefer to see in your associates?

In addition, the Bible teaches that in the very near future all ungodly persons will suffer destruction at the hands of God. (2 Peter 3:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9) Jesus Christ predicted that, just prior to this divine cleansing of the earth, people in general would be as indifferent to following God’s standards as were the people in Noah’s day. (Luke 17:26-30) So it is urgent that we gain full appreciation for the value of the guidelines that God has set. To survive, this is just as necessary for us today as it was for Noah in his day.

Therefore, independence from God does not bring real happiness; doing God’s will does. Those submitting to Jehovah’s guidance will be rewarded with everlasting life on an earth filled with people who have the Christlike personality.​—Psalm 37:27-29.