Freedom, Morality, and the Will of God

by Joe Cady

“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.” – Psalm 40

God’s desire has always been for us to live in the truth, to pursue what is good, and conduct ourselves with love. We were not made for sin and disobedience. And yet, all of history has been marked by humanity turning away from what is good and true, and leaving a trail of brokenness in its wake. Wouldn’t it have all been so much easier if we weren’t able to sin, if we were just programmed to follow God’s law at every step of our lives? If God’s will is for us to follow the path of truth and goodness, why did he give us the ability to turn away from that path?

These are good questions. It seems that a lot of damage could have been avoided if God had made us unable to disobey him. But, the fact of the matter is that God has made us free. And this was intentional, God wants us to be free – his will for us is that we possess the ability to say “yes” or “no” to him, to accept or reject the path he sets before us. Why? Because God has made us not to just obey him but to experience a relationship of love with him, and love requires freedom. Love is impossible without freedom, it cannot be forced or coerced… love has to be free. God wanted to create beings who were capable of interpersonal relationships marked by love, and with this came the risk of these beings using their freedom to reject him. But this freedom was given for a purpose – it is freedom for love, freedom for truth and goodness. Often times, our world thinks of freedom as the ability to do what I want, how I want, whenever I want. But in reality, the freedom God has given us is purposeful, it’s freedom directed toward what is good, beautiful, and true. So much so that when we use our freedom in ways contrary to what is good and true, it is a mis-use (or disordered use) of our freedom, a corruption of freedom’s purpose.

Because God wants us to exercise our freedom according to truth and goodness, he has given us the ability to know what we ought to do and not do. He does this primarily in two ways: (1) through the use of reason and our knowledge of the natural law, and (2) through divine revelation, where he shows us the path that leads to life. As rational beings, we have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong through the use of our intellect (for example, if we really think about it, we can come to the rational conclusion that things like murder, lying, and stealing are wrong – they are contrary to human flourishing and human progress). However, because sin has darkened our intellect and therefore made it more difficult for us to always know what is right and wrong, God has also revealed to us certain truths of morality as a part of divine revelation (for example, in the commands: thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, and thou shall not bear false witness). This divine law, which comes to us in the form of natural law and divine revelation, shows us the will of God and tells us what we ought to do and not do in the exercise of our freedom.

And yet, because we often think of freedom as the ability to do whatever we want, we have a tendency to view God’s law as a restriction or limit on our freedom. So, how can we reconcile all of this? How can we affirm the truth of human freedom while also submitting to the will of God and the laws of morality that God sets before us?

There is a distinction in moral theology that I think helps shed some light on this question. It starts by recognizing that there are two ways to look at freedom: Freedom of Indifference and Freedom for Excellence.

Freedom of Indifference says that…

FREEDOM (the ability to choose one way or another) is primary, and precedes REASON and WILL, which are INDIFFERENT to good and evil (not inclined to either one). The idea here is that what comes first is my freedom, a freedom that is not pointed in any particular direction, but stands indifferently between good and evil.

Freedom for Excellence, on the other hand, says that…

REASON and WILL (the ability to know and to love) are primary, and give rise to FREEDOM, which is NATURALLY INCLINED to life, to the good, and to truth. In this view, what comes first is the fact that we are created to know and to love, and because of this, we were give the capacity to be free. Furthermore, our freedom is not indifferent to good and evil but is moved by certain natural inclinations to what is good, beautiful and true.

Understanding these difference views of freedom is important, because how we view freedom will largely influence how we view God’s law and the “rules” of morality.

From the Freedom for Excellence perspective, GOD’S LAW (divine revelation, the teachings of Christ and the Church, etc.) COMES TO THE AID of this freedom, moving it toward the attainment of HAPPINESS. In this view, LAW functions as a HELP to man. You see, because our freedom is ordered to what is good and true, God’s law is not a hindrance to our freedom but a support to it, helping it achieve the end for which it was given. The basic idea is that the human person is made with a natural inclination to live in truth and goodness, and God gives us his law in order to help us arrive at the very thing that we naturally desire.

The Freedom of Indifference view, however, view’s GOD’S LAW as an imposition on humanity, and a LIMIT OR HINDRANCE to our freedom. Because this view sees freedom as absolute and unrestrained, when God’s law says “do this” or “don’t do this” those commands are received primarily as a BURDEN and restriction to humanity’s freedom, and an obstacle to happiness. However, this view of God’s law is tainted by a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of human freedom.

All the “thou shall nots…” of the moral law are ultimately not about restricting our freedom, but about guiding it toward the very thing it was given for… goodness, truth, and love. All of this has become more clear to me as my kids have gotten older. As a parent, my desire is for my kids to grow into people who can live well and experience the joy and happiness of living in the truth of God’s will. And yet, sometimes it’s easy for kids to think, “mom and dad have all these rules to ruin my fun.” They can begin to think that the things I tell them to do or not do are given not for their good, but as a restriction and stifling of their freedom. What they don’t always see is that I desire their good even more than they do, that I’m more interested in their happiness than they are. And all the “rules” I give them are about guiding them to what will make them truly happy. The same is true with God. He has given us his law not to restrict our freedom, but to help our freedom be exercised in way that leads to our ultimate good and happiness. God’s will is always for our good. The question is, do we trust him? Are we willing to follow him, knowing that the path of the Gospel is the path that leads to our ultimate fulfillment and happiness?