Some folks have a distorted idea about freedom.

A few years ago when I was in China, I had employed a Chinese college student as my interpreter. He was anxious to work with an American because it gave him the opportunity to practice his English. He was full of questions. After a few days we became pretty close. He had lots of questions about Freedom. Since he couldn’t do such basic things as travel to another city to visit relatives without applying for government permission, he was fascinated by every facet of our lives in America.

One day I asked him, “When you think about freedom in America, what comes to your mind?” He replied, “Free six,” I said, “What?” “Free six!” I didn’t know what “three six” meant! Finally he made me understand that he was saying, “Free Sex.” He had heard something about the hippie lifestyle and assumed that every young person in America lived at Woodstock!

July the 4th stands for freedom to Americans. But some folks have a distorted view of freedom. I’m reminded that in 1962 our Supreme Court took away my freedom to recite a prayer in school. And the next year that same court took away my freedom to read the Bible at school. I lost those freedoms. My children have never had those freedoms. Say that really slowly to yourself and let it sink in - if my children pray or read the Bible in public school - someone will stop them! It is illegal! They could be sent to jail.

God bless America? How can He? Why should he? We’ve kicked Him out of our public life.

The irony is - in the obsessive pursuit of personal freedoms we are systematically losing the very freedoms upon which our country was built.

–Ken Stegall