Yeah, it's a line from an En Vouge song, and I do think it's true. If we can all actually have truly open minds, we really would have a "free-er" world. The problem comes in freeing your mind; how do you go about doing that? While it is more attitude than anything else, attutides are hard to change. The song misses the true beginning of freedom: giving.
I've been thinking as I clean out the knooks and crannies in our home that I am also giving myself the mental once over. I'm letting go of a lot of stuff, both physically and mentally, in the process. There's an opening up happening that could be described as freeing. Apparently this is only working to give me a cleaner house and a more stable emotional being, and not helping my body let go of the extra pounds. While the extra weight still hangs on, I do think this cleansing is both important and beneficial.
Ironically, or maybe it was providentially, as I considered ways to get rid of the growing mound in our guest room, two things happened to steer me clear of selling the stuff and toward giving it all away.
One, my husband put "30 Days", a new show hosted by Morgan Spurlock, on our DVR. Spurlock originally masterminded and starred in "Supersize Me", a documentary about what happened to him physically when he ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. While I have yet to watch the pilot episode of the new show, my husband shared with me that Spurlock and his fiance spent 30 days on minimum wage. After watching the show, he told me that I would want to donate all that stuff after I watched the show. I'll be sure and post more information as soon as I see it.
Two, our pastor spent the last three Sundays preaching a series of sermons on generosity. While I missed the first in the series, I listened intently to the last two. Near the end of the second week, he challenged us to spend the next week thinking about freedom as a "mark" of generosity.
After some mental deliberation, I came to a conclusion that is similar to what he shared this past Sunday morning. Being generous teaches us to view our stuff, even our time, money, and physical bodies, as not our own, but simply things on loan from God. You can then experience God in a new way because you are not connected to that stuff, or even yourself. Consider an empty or clean vessel, it is free to be filled with whatever we like. If we empty ourselves, God can then fill us with what is pleasing to Him and completes us: Christ. (See 2 Timothy 2:21.)
If you ask me, freedom has EVERYTHING to do with generosity. It's a wonder I didn't see it before. Being truly generous will free me physically, mentally and spiritually. The freedoms we still manage to have in this country are courtesy of the generosity of many servicemen and women who were willing to give their lives for the cause. The truly awesome thing about generosity is that everyone benefits; you may even find that a free mind follows.