Freedom is great! It is one of the highest and dearest principles for life and relationships. It is also similar to grace in some respects. Yet, it is not the most crucial element for superior relationships. Relationships suffer from irresponsible freedom if you do not put freedom below at least one other principle.
Gravity and the Bernoulli Principle
Freedom is like gravity. What? Okay, it is just an analogy, but freedom, like gravity, is subject to at least one higher principle. For example, heavy planes can fly. How can giant passenger and cargo planes fly when some of the biggest ones weigh more than 600 tons?
That must mean gravity isn't real because those heavy planes can fly! Or, how is it that birds fly when gravity is real? There is a higher principle or law, Bernoulli’s principle, that you can call a "higher principle." The planes and birds' wings create an airfoil that creates a lift force when energy is applied to the airfoil.
Bernoulli's Principle can be used to calculate the lift force on an airfoil if you know the behavior of the fluid flow in the vicinity of the foil. For example, if the air flowing past the top surface of an aircraft wing is moving faster than the air flowing past the bottom surface then Bernoulli's principle implies that the pressure on the surfaces of the wing will be lower above than below. This pressure difference results in an upwards lift force. Whenever the distribution of speed past the top and bottom surfaces of a wing is known, the lift forces can be calculated (to a good approximation) using Bernoulli's equations – established by Bernoulli over a century before the first man-made wings were used for the purpose of flight. – Wikipedia; Bernoulli’s Principle, Real-world application
Freedom and Love
Why is that important to know? Because Love is to freedom like the Bernoulli Principle is to gravity.
Your freedom is subject to the highest principle – LOVE, especially when other people are involved. Love – “pursues their best; patiently, kindly, sacrificially, and unconditionally.”.
When discussing this with a friend, she said, “Love trumps freedom.” What a great, simple statement to remember. Love does trump freedom – love is not only more important than freedom; it promises, promotes, and provides the responsible use of freedom.
Yes, freedom is great, but love subjects freedom to a higher standard, limiting some of your freedom. Love sets and respects boundaries, while freedom without love (irresponsible freedom) will ignore boundaries. When your ME is flashing, that is not love because love does not focus on ME nor judge or complain about people, especially those near you. Love does not try to get others to help you change them. And love never manipulates or dominates others to make you feel better. Instead, love accepts the freedom of others to relate to you or not. Finally, love is focused on others - pursuing their best, patiently, kindly, sacrificially, and unconditionally.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. – Galatians 5:13
Love Sets Boundaries and Respects Boundaries
Love sets boundaries and respects others’ boundaries. It also creates consequences for crossing boundaries AND, at the same time, accepts that others are free to cross them. They are free to cross and free to experience the consequences.
That is not condoning bad behavior. That is just reality. When you ignore reality, you fuel your actions with opinion, subjectivity, and selfishness.
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