wfn.org | Commentary: Freedom is about more than having choices

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 10, 2000  News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71BP{321}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph of Bishop Kenneth Carder is available.

 
A UMNS Commentary
By Bishop Kenneth L. Carder*

I write this on Independence Day, the celebration of political freedom and
independence. Indeed, freedom is cause for celebration, and we give thanks
for the liberty we enjoy in the United States. 

On this Independence Day, however, I have been reflecting on something
Bishop Ntambo emphasized at our annual conference sessions.

Bishop Ntambo told us about his first visit to the United States in 1989.
Shortly after arriving, he went to the market to buy toothpaste. What struck
him was the number of options - multiple brands, sizes, colors, prices. In
his country, there was only one brand and size of toothpaste available. How
was he to choose from all the multiple options available?

Being confronted with choices of toothpaste was a "cultural shock" to our
colleague from the Republic of the Congo. He added that America is a country
of choices. 

We have choices as to when and what to eat, what to wear, the doctor we
choose to treat us. We have choices as to where and how to travel, where to
live, where to go to school, what to study. We are a people of choices.

Bishop Ntambo shared that in his country the choices are limited. Many have
nothing to eat, and the choice of those who do is usually "rice and beans."
There may be one doctor for a hundred thousand people. For more people,
transportation options are limited to walking or, for the fortunate ones,
perhaps a bicycle. Most children do not have access to any education. Many
do not have homes, and their choice for shelter is limited to the bush or
street.

A problem we confront is making freedom synonymous with choices made
possible by economics. Certainly, money increases our options, and the lack
of financial resources can rob us of all choices, even the choice to live.  

Millions are dying today because they have no access to food, medicine and
shelter. So, I would not for a moment glamorize or sentimentalize poverty,
which severely limits choices.

However, choices can themselves be a form of slavery. It is possible to be
immobilized by options and seduced into the assumption that more money and
more choices mean more freedom and fuller life. 

The devil tempted Jesus with more options, alternatives to "the narrow way
that leads to life." I suspect the devil's favorite seduction remains the
presentation of more choices that lure us away from total commitment to the
One who is the source of true freedom.

# # #

*Carder is bishop of the Nashville Area of the United Methodist Church,
which includes the Tennessee and Memphis annual conferences.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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