Apr
9
2015
Who Owns The Terms?
Posted in Evangelism 2 Comments
She studied for many years.
Voice lessons filled most of her time in her growing up years.
Many hours a day one would find her practicing.
Her training fine-tuned the gift that had been given to her.
Her dream of singing professionally was still years away.
In the meantime, there were concerts and recitals in which she could participate.
She brought so much pleasure to those who listened to her.
She brought so much joy to those around her.
She knew that her voice was a gift.
She knew that God wanted her to use her voice to glorify Him.
She memorized a verse that became her lifesong.
She lived her life according to its truth.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
She majored in music in college.
She had many opportunities to use the gift God had given her.
Graduation was fast approaching.
She longed to sing professionally just like she always dreamed.
But the culture had changed.
The powers that be seemed more like bullies.
The powers that be seemed larger than life.
They dictated and directed, attempting inclusiveness but succeeding at alienation.
You can only sing inside your house or in the approved concert hall.
Gone were the dreams of the concert stage.
Gone were the dreams of singing for large crowds of people.
You have the freedom to sing anything you want inside the walls of those places.
She had a song to sing.
She had a gift to share.
She was being confined to areas designated by powers that bullied and controlled.
How would she ever sing her song, the one she was born to sing?
She felt defeated.
All those years of preparation seemed worthless.
All those years of training seemed to be a lesson in futility.
All those years of practice could have been used for something else.
You have the freedom to sing anything you want inside the walls of those places.
That was no freedom at all.
That was restricting her voice, keeping her voice in the approved places.
That was absurd.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
(First Amendment to the United States Constitution)
We have heard it said that those who own the terms own the culture.
We have never seen this clearer than in two terms that are deemed interchangeable.
They are deemed interchangeable, but in reality, the two couldn’t be more different.
Freedom of religion vs. freedom of worship.
We constantly hear the term freedom of worship from our government and in the media.
We think the terms religion or worship can be used interchangeably in any given context.
That is false.
Freedom of religion and freedom of worship mean vastly different things.
Freedom of Religion is defined in the US Constitution.
It has allowed for the free exercise of religion in all aspects of American society.
This freedom has been unabated for over 200 years.
We are seeing that freedom increasingly challenged in this generation.
Freedom of Worship is far more limited.
It means nothing more than the right to pray to the god of your choice.
It is the right to pray in your own home or in a designated place of worship.
You have no right to publicly proclaim your faith or evangelize to others.
Freedom of worship is the term we hear in speeches or read about in the newspaper.
It is the government’s attempt to limit proclamation and evangelism in public places.
It is limited freedom, restricted to only those approved areas.
It is no freedom at all.
Freedom of religion is rarely heard in mainstream media or from the halls of government.
Freedom of religion is what our Founders wanted to insure when our country first began.
The freedom to share the Gospel, evangelize freely, and keep the government in check.
Freedom of religion is a threat to those who desire a global religion.
We see the results of this language shift played out every day in our culture.
Like the story of the girl who dreamed of using her voice, our freedom is being usurped.
You have the freedom to sing anything you want inside the walls of those places.
ONLY inside the walls of those places.
“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen or heard.” (Acts 4:16-20)
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen or heard.
That should be what we all say.
That is freedom of religion.
The latter, that the officials tried to impose on Peter and John, is freedom of worship.
There is no better passage to define what we are experiencing in this culture.
The powers that be are bullying people into silence.
That cannot be!
Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
It is right to obey God.
We have a song to sing, HIS song.
We must sing it in public places, from rooftops, in jungles, or on city streets.
We have that God-given freedom.
The girl disobeyed the powers that be and sang in a lovely outdoor park.
The song she was born to sing filled the air.
Many people in the audience remembered the song and how it used to be.
They sang along, joyfully!
I never imagined that we would be thinking of the same exact concept at the same time. Excellent post. Now what am I going to do about it?
Al,
What are we ALL going to do about it? Are we going to be bullied into silence or speak freely what God would have us say? Even if ONE of us begins to speak God’s Truth, others will have the courage to speak as well. We must find our voice. We have been silent far too long!
Gina