Other than the very first humans, the story of humanity is one of groups of people taking over for other groups of people. Whether by conquest or treaty, no one lives in a place where someone else has not gone before. Family, tribe or nation, the human story is one of conquest and compromise.

No one can literally lay claim to the term, “native.” For example, “Native American” is technically an incorrect term. The people we would give such a distinction would be properly called, “Earlier Americans,” or “Mongolia Americans,” after the likelihood of migration over the frozen Bering Strait.

What all this means is we are not born free. We are beholden to others in order to survive. This begins in family, to be sure, but the continued dependence we have on each other makes the idea of a self-made man or woman, foolish.

We are not free, but dependent. We will either learn to work together, or manipulate and overpower to get what we want. Cooperation or exploitation becomes the human response. Then how can we be free?

How can I be free if I am connected to others in a positive or negative way? Freedom becomes the ability to know what is good for me and good for others, and do it. By human nature, I cannot consistently live my life for the sake of others. By God’s power, I can. The only true freedom is to know what is good and, through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, be able to do it.

We are free to live for each other. Free to serve. Free to give privilege a rest. Through Jesus, we celebrate our own independence from being dependent on our human nature.

What does it mean to you to know that you are a slave to what you want, but free to live for the sake of others?