Can freedom be real without responsibility?

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Adulting sounds like freedom. But is it?

[00:00:03]I mean, it is according to my two daughters. They say it all the time.

[00:00:07]"Mommy, I can't wait to be an adult. You can do whatever you want."

[00:00:12]And I'm like, "Oh, sweet girls, if only you knew."

[00:00:16]Because yes, freedom grows as you get older, but so does responsibility, and God has a lot to say about what real freedom looks like.

[00:00:26]Galatians, specifically Galatians 5:13, "For you have been called to live in freedom.

[00:00:33]My brothers and sisters, but don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."

[00:00:42]But here's the tension I know I feel. We often think freedom means I can do whatever I want, but what this is saying is God views freedom differently. And freedom isn't just being released from something, rather being released for something. Jesus didn't set us free so we could live more selfishly. He set us free so we could live more selflessly.

[00:01:09]And honestly, that's the part no one tells you as a kid, right? But but but that is something that I we are trying as a unit to instill in our girls now.

[00:01:20]Yes, as an adult, you can do whatever you want, but maturity in in Christ teach you to ask yourself questions like, "What's actually loving? What is actually serving of others? What on a What honors God, right?" So, take a moment. Exercise this for a minute.

[00:01:40]Think about something that isn't wrong on its own, but think about like scrolling on your phone, maybe things that you eat or how you spend your time. None of it at on its own is bad, right? But without boundaries, hm, it slowly becomes all about you and me. Selfish.

[00:01:59]And that And that kind of freedom that leads to emptiness and not purpose.

[00:02:06]Is there something you need to lay down right now or become more open-handed with? Because real freedom isn't doing whatever you want, it's becoming the kind of person who chooses love every single time. So today, use your freedom well, because the most powerful thing you can do with it is to give it away.