We love freedom. Be yourself. Speak your truth. Live unapologetically. But here’s the rub: what happens when your unapologetic truth steamrolls someone else’s dignity? Being you should not damage someone else being them. It’s a bit of a conundrum.
I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. (1 Cor 10:23-24)
So sayeth St Paul. Translation? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Christian freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want—it’s about using our freedom for others, not against them. Bonhoeffer says, ‘Being free means being free for the other.’ In other words, real freedom isn’t self-indulgence, it’s self-giving.
Don’t get me wrong—this isn’t a call to become a doormat (I would never EVER advocate for anyone to be a doormat). Jesus spoke truth, challenged injustice, and lived boldly. Yet he did so with love at the center, not ego. Pope Francis backs this up in Fratelli Tutti, warning that unchecked individualism breeds division, while freedom with responsibility builds community.
So before we make that comment, dominate a conversation, make a choice that impacts others or take that stand, maybe we should ask: Am I using my freedom to build up or just to make noise?
Because freedom isn’t about holding back—but it’s also not about being a walking loudspeaker with no volume control, ‘full of sound and fury signifying nothing’.
The Female Theologian 