I’m sure you’ve heard before the line from the Declaration of Independence that lists 3 of the freedoms that are inseparable from us as human beings because we are created by God with such freedoms being part of who we are…
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
It goes on to say that the purpose of government is to protect such rights. Did you ever stop to think about what the pursuit of happiness is? We don’t have a right to happiness. We only have the right to pursue it. Interesting…don’t you think?
Some interpret that right of pursuit as “property.” In other words we own our own body and our own ability to work and to build and to trade our labor for property. So the money/property we trade our work for is our right–and therefore shouldn’t be taxed (as with the income tax). So it’s everybody’s God-given right to trade skills and labor for money or goods in order to better our own lives. Or you could say that “work” is pursuing happiness because it’s your means to improving your life. Anyway, that’s the political definition.
From a spiritual perspective it’s slightly different. Happiness comes to a person who obeys God’s law. When you break that law, you enslave yourself to sin and death. But real freedom comes from living a moral life. If you avoid all those things that hurt you and hurt other people (lying, stealing, lusting, etc.) then you never become a slave of sin or death. So you have the God-given right (and obligation) to pursue happiness by living the way God wants you to live. And the natural result of living that kind of life is better than happiness–it’s joy, which is a deep seated glad contentedness that comes from having a relationship with Jesus–who, by the way, is the only one who can equip you to live a life of purity and total morality.
And if you have already made yourself a slave to sin and death because of your selfish and evil choices, your one hope for freedom is Jesus. Wanna know more? Listen to the podcast…
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