We get to do whatever we want. Do we really? The idea of freedom is idolized in today’s culture. We want freedom of speech, freedom of religion, some of us dance so that we might feel a kind of physical freedom that we don’t experience in our day-to-day lives.
The tap dancer Chuck Green said, “You can’t always do what you want to do. You have to do what’s needed to do.“ Chuck was considered a master storyteller, a rich and nuanced voice in a craft that can sometimes be limited to big smiles and flashy steps.
The writer of the letter to Corinth included in the New Testament, said this, “Everything is possible, but not everything is good.“
So what is this freedom that we are so persistent to strive toward? Is it the freedom to do what we want, whenever we want? Or is it a freedom from some burden, something that we feel is keeping us from fulfilling our true nature?
Whichever one it is, there is one thing that is true. With the revelation that we can indeed do whatever we want, an equally powerful revelation must occur. A revelation of responsibility. That is, with every choice we make, we affect the lives of others. The responsibility is high. Maybe higher than any of us would ever care to realize.
So I submit, that instead of striving for freedom, it might be better to just strive to do the work that set before us. This work is the work that we know needs to be done. It is the work that we know would lead to a better life, better relationships, resilient communities, all the things we dream of. And in setting ourselves to do this work we will experience the freedom to do what we are called to, what we were made for.