From 1983 until 2010, a WSIX radio personality named Gerry House kept his listeners occupied with a positive and fun distraction from the dense commuter woes with his morning show, “The House Foundation.” Jan and I enjoyed listening to his creative approach to entertaining his listeners as they navigated through the soupy morning traffic on their way to work.
I am not a big fan of country music, but I immensely enjoyed the House Foundation. House developed a gruff, opinionated fictional character he named, “Mack Truck.” Mack would have commentary on some current issue, and at the end of his “trucker” rant, he would say, “This is Mack Truck; that’s my opinion, and it ought to be yours.” It was obvious that Mack spent his long cross-country hours of isolation behind the wheel of his big rig, thinking about what he thought about until he was convinced that what he thought was the way every other “informed” person should think. Any different conclusion was, at best, doubtful.
In our society, being right is established by what is accepted as normal by minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure. We desire and highly value individual freedom and autonomy in our natural frame of mind. Much of our political ideologies appear to be based upon “opinions.” Opinions are based on what we think should be accepted by any normal-thinking human. That thinking is not encumbered by rigorous searching for actual truth. Only those “facts” that support my opinion can be trusted.
Being a father of three children and a grandfather of ten children has taught me that living in an uncluttered home requires restraint. Someone in the household has to have the self-discipline to put the scooters, bikes, bats, balls, and especially tools from my shop returned to their original location. Our oldest grandchild just turned twenty-one, and the youngest is soon to be eight, so I have been and will be “restraining” their lives for much longer.
The shift to responsible living in a community takes a long time to develop and requires constant development and repair. I am teaching my “lovelies” that just stepping off the bike and walking away to the next distraction is not living responsibly. Their “freedom” becomes my bondage, as I have to collect the scattered apparatuses of their amusement.
There is no freedom without responsibility. To be responsible is to live as a servant of the community. So, the question is, “What community do I commit my life to serve?”
To obtain the greatest freedom, we must surrender our “self-evident” freedom to a “greater cause.” Of course, that sounds backward. We tend to reason how much more enjoyable our lives would be if we could do what we want, when we want, as long as we want, as long as it does not hurt another human. Creating a life of bondage that is not quickly broken. That kind of bondage is always marked by the “haves” keeping the “have-nots” from having and the “possessors” utilizing the “possessions” who live beneath them. The powerful manipulate the less powerful to increase the likelihood of maintaining their competitive edge. This human trait is first seen when Adam blames Eve and again when Cain kills Able. This idea opens up a whole new understanding of what God meant when He told Adam and Eve, “If you eat from this tree, you will surely die.” There is a devastating price to pay when humans usurp the Creator’s role as their own.
There is no sustainable sense of security in this sort of life scheme. There is no rest. There is always a feeling that a truckload of misery is about to be, or has just been, dumped on your front lawn. Life will always significantly lean toward dreariness and boredom on this side of heaven. On our best days, we will discover, if we look honestly, a longing to be joyously and continuously free.
Mack Truck correctly said, “That’s my opinion, and it ought to be yours.” However, his point of disembarking is wrong. Never base your life values on anyone’s “opinion.” Not even your own. The serpent gave Eve his opinion, bringing devastating results when she acted on it as truth. It did then, and it will today, and it will tomorrow.
Get to know your Creator and trust His words, and you will discover a completely new idea of what freedom is really about and an accompanying realization of peace that will blow your mind. God seems to say,” That’s the way I designed life; you will be better off if you live life the way I created.”
Photo – A dragonfly and I were sizing each other up.
Baldwin Heirlooms 