The True Freedom We Can Celebrate Every Day
- Tom Faletti
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Americans often celebrate independence as freedom from the rule of others. America’s founders had a bigger vision, and the Bible offers the grandest vision of all. We are not just free from tyranny; we are free for something. But for what?
Now that the festivities surrounding the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence have subsided, let’s take a look at what true freedom really is.
We misunderstand freedom when we picture it only in terms of what we have gained freedom from. Just because we are free from one type of tyranny does not mean we are truly free. We may merely have traded an old send of bonds for a new set.
Pete Townshend, lead songwriter for the English rock band The Who, captured this problem well in the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” The song begins with the celebration of a “new constitution” and a “new revolution.” But in the end, the joy gives way to this rueful conclusion: “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”
What matters is not just what we are free from, but also what we are free for.
One of the great mistakes that libertarians make is in their excessive glorification of freedom as a destination rather than as a starting point. They think of freedom merely as independence: the right to do what you want without anyone telling you what to do. That may be independence, but it is not necessarily freedom.
The Declaration of Independence sought the freedom to pursue virtue
The leaders of the American revolution had a grander vision than simply independence.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, he framed independence in terms of the God-given rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Freedom, he was saying, involves the right to pursue happiness.
Modern Americans tend to equate the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of pleasure. This is not what the founders had in mind, as Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center, explains in his book The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.
Rosen tells us that when the founders talked about the pursuit of happiness, they meant “not the pursuit of pleasure, but the pursuit of virtue. They had something very particular in mind, which was self-government, self-mastery, character improvement, fulfilling your potential so that you could achieve the kind of tranquility that allows you to serve others. It is the classical definition of happiness. It comes from Aristotle, who famously defined happiness as an activity of the soul in conformity with excellence or virtue.”
Rosen explains that, “for the founders, happiness meant, not feeling good but being good.... For them, virtue was a synonym for happiness and virtue included the classical virtues of temperance, prudence, courage, and justice.”
What Americans often mean by freedom and the pursuit of happiness
Most Americans weren’t thinking about virtue when they celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States on July 4, 2026. They were not celebrating the right to be virtuous or good.
On the Fourth of July, Americans celebrate their freedom from England and any other ruler. They celebrate that they have the right to do what they want, without someone stopping them. The focus is on freedom from restrictions Much less emphasis is given to what the freedom is for, and whether it is being used for virtue. Here are some examples:
Many people think of freedom of religion as their right to follow any religion they choose. That right is inherent in our nature as people made in the image of God. Human dignity demands that we be able to choose any religion or no religion. But many Christians are silent as fellow Christians call for a Christian nation that does not provide equal treatment for people of other faiths. They support politicians who mock people of other faiths. Conversely, some of the people who reject religion try to force people of faith to act contrary to their faith. In both cases, a crimped view of freedom of religion fails to honor the consciences of those who have another view, violating the universal law of love.
The same issues arise with regard to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is fundamental to human dignity. But many people insist on their own freedom of speech while seeking to deny others the same right. This is happening on both the right and the left on college campuses, and increasingly in other public forums as well. Christians have tended to choose a side, promoting one group and stifling the other based on their political stripes, where virtues such as temperance, prudence, and justice would lead us to allow even the voices we disagree with.
On another issue, some champion the freedom of bodily autonomy even when it ends a life through abortion. They argue that this position is also built on the principle of human dignity. But when the right to autonomy is used to snuff out the life of the most defenseless of all human creatures – those still in the womb – it misses the goal of using our freedom to pursue virtues that serve others.
Many people think of freedom in economic terms: the right to do business, make a profit, and enjoy a comfortable life. Human dignity is honored when people can choose their line of work and pursue it diligently. But when people use their economic rights to amass unfathomable riches at the expense of others, refuse to adequately share their wealth with the workers who helped create that wealth, and support governmental policies that slash what little assistance there is for those who are left behind, the pursuit of happiness is no longer a pursuit of virtue.
What the Bible tells us about happiness and freedom
The Bible takes us a step further in our understanding of happiness and freedom.
Jesus says:
“Happy [or blessed] are the poor in spirit, . . . the meek, . . . those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, . . . the merciful, . . . the pure of heart, . . . the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:3-9).
Happiness is not about what you can escape from or what you can get. It is about what you can give. True happiness, Jesus tells us, is focused on how well you treat others and how well you are aligned with God. People are most free when they voluntarily choose to stand with integrity with those who are suffering and work for peace for all, rather than being bound by their own self-centeredness.
One measure Jesus offers us for evaluating how people use their freedom is known as the Golden Rule:
“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).
Since we all want our own freedom, we are called to work for the freedom of all. If we use the civil freedom we have to serve merely our own desires, we will find that that freedom is a mirage: the false freedom of a new boss that glorifies our selfish self, leaving us like the old boss.
That is why, in the Gospel of John, Jesus links freedom with truth:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
If we embrace Jesus’s words, we will see through the lie that says that happiness comes from getting everything you can for yourself even when it hurts others. Jesus goes on:
“Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.... If the Son sets you free, you will be truly free” (John 8:34, 36).
Jesus empowers us to live a life of virtue. True freedom is found in doing what is right. That is why the apostle Peter cautions:
“Live as free people, not using your freedom as a coverup for evil, but as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).
Paul expresses a similar thought:
“You were called for freedom, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love” (Gal. 5:13 ).
Freedom can be used for good or evil. We are called to understand that freedom has been given to us so that we can freely choose to love and serve others and honor God, not so that we can merely serve ourselves.
Choosing true freedom
Too many people see freedom as a right to do whatever benefits themselves, even when it hurts others. That is the choice that Peter calls “evil.” That freedom is hardly worth celebrating.
The words of the Bible cast a bright light so that we can see how well our ideas of freedom align with the true freedom that comes from God.
May we embrace the freedom that puts itself at the service of others, as Jesus showed us. Those who truly follow his example know what it is to be truly free.
And their boss is not like the old boss.
