October 7, 2014
How much peace are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve freedom?
How much freedom are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve peace?
As a Christian, I believe that everyone is created differently, individually, and uniquely, and that He has a particular plan for each and every one of us in His bigger purpose for all of humankind that is to demonstrate His love and to live for His glory. In addition to that, it is my faith that if everyone comes together as one in Christ, everything will all somehow fall into place and all our lives will work as one unit towards one goal. It’s a bit like economics; many people do not think that governments should take extra action in an attempt to make markets better off because the original supply and demand curves will always give us the perfect equilibrium. However, of course, in my perspective, this equilibrium can never be achieved because we live in a perverted, corrupted world where not everyone is Christians. Should we then force the religion of Christianity onto all of mankind in order to reach this equilibrium?
This is where the concept of freedom comes in. Biblically, God gives everyone the freedom of choice. With that being said, people are given a choice as to whether they want to believe or not. God wants people to come to Him willingly with an open heart, instead of having to make them feel obligated to Him. After all, forcing everyone into the religion of Christianity only labels the people as Christians; it does not, by any means, equate to their actual faith. Therefore, freedom of choice also means that He allows for people to use their own personal characteristics that He had given them however they want to use it. And as a Christian, I should support freedom for all.
Unfortunately, having a government that give freedom to all people does not necessarily mean there will be peace. The only resolution to all this, the only way to peace is through Christ. From my perspective, I don’t think there has ever been legitimate peace in the history of Hong Kong; the peace that the Umbrella Revolution is seeking for is worldly and will never last. There will only be genuine peace in the world when all of mankind has found their place in the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” True peace lies in the refuge of the Lord. The majority of people who are persecuted for their Christian faith often claim that they are at peace with whatever is being done to them because they have found security in the Lord. As Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.” If we were all to believe in God, there will be ultimate peace for the world.
Since the only way to achieve peace in the world is for everyone to believe, what should we do as Christians? The Bible is very clear and specific on this topic. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “With freedom comes responsibility.” There is much truth in that statement. Christians, as a representation of the Lord and of the faith, should be careful with their actions and should not abuse the freedom that God has given us. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 explains what we should not do, “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say – but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything,’ – but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” Galatians 5:13-14 clarifies what we should do instead, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to freedom. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love neighbor as yourself.’” If Christians do not act hypocritically, if Christians were to stick to having only one moral silo under all circumstances, the rest of the world see the love of Christ and will actually want to believe and follow the Lord.
In the situation that we are in currently, there are many ways Christians can demonstrate God’s love and God’s values. For one thing, people should stop protesting on the streets; the protest never received any consent from the government and is actually illegal. Despite the fact that it is considerably peaceful, it does not bolster God’s values in this world. Furthermore, protesting and occupying Central, as well as other places in Hong Kong, is causative to hate amongst the citizens of Hong Kong. For example, many people are saying that the police are being unnecessarily violent towards the citizens, whereas others are saying that the police are only doing their job. This creates a division amongst the people, and in my opinion, is not what God wants for the city. Moving on from that, there are several people posting and sharing their opinions here and there on Facebook, causing commotion and misunderstanding. Of course, under the concept of “freedom of choice,” there is no wrong in doing so. However, the Bible does say that we should only use our freedom in a constructive way, keeping everyone in mind, including those who are considered to be overly sensitive. When people do not keep that in mind, Satan can easily take advantage and use that to turn people against one another, which is not what we want. Lastly, and most importantly, Christians should do their very best in living out God’s love towards everyone. The Vine Church in Wan Chai is a great example of how we should be reacting and responding to the situation in Hong Kong. The Vine is opening up for people to go in and pray, which is essential. Moreover, they have ordered many necessities for the protesters, such as chargers and water bottles, and have even made sandwiches for the people who are hungry. I find that this truly demonstrates God’s love, as the Bible tells us to reach out to everyone. I give the volunteers at the church my utmost respect, and I believe that we should all do the same and try to reach out to Hong Kong citizens.
Draft: Blog Draft, Freedom
When I Don't Have a Writer's Block 
Yan, I think that this writing honestly explains the freedom that God intends for us. I love how you connected your point with economics, and it worked out really well! We should all try to strive for the equilibrium as Christians 🙂 hehe. I agree with a lot that you said. You writing has a lot of supporting references from the Bible and I think that it is very strong and neat. I didn’t know that the Vine was doing that. That’s super cool and nice of them to open up their place for prayer and necessities. I personally want to know where you stand on this protest.. it interests me. Good job!
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Oh my goodness! Yan! This writing really really spoke to me. When I wrote this essay in class, I didn’t really think in depth nor did I relate it to my Christian perspective and aspects. After reading your writing, I realized that this was also teaching me in a way. I wasn’t just reading something that a classmate wrote, but I was feeling and realizing the depth and meaning of what you were sharing about freedom. As a Christian, I think this is a writing I would love to read more often. This really touched me..<3 Great Job! 🙂
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