BOOM!!
Fireworks. . . automatically, without thinking, most of our minds tune into radiant light shows occurring on a special day for our country: the Fourth of July.
When our forefathers were embracing the ink-tipped feathers to create our nation, I know that one thing was on their mind. Freedom was the reason why we, as immigrants, united along-side one another to create this nation. However, this “freedom” has transformed from its preexisting form to an immoral, irrational monster that grows at a faster pace from the day before. A major cause of this is media.
I do not mean that all media is bad (it is helpful in many instances). But it has given our nation answers (both right and wrong) to questions dealing with moral issues. Most of us can think of examples of this (homosexual relationships, unmarried couples living together, unplanned pregnancies, etc.). The media tell us that people are entitled to freedom and, therefore, it is morally acceptable to participate in acts that in the past were thought of as immoral.
Freedom has allowed our country to become what it is today. Many developments over the years have encouraged us spiritually by allowing us more opportunities (for example: school prayer meetings, revival/gospel meeting advertisements, religious stations, etc.). Today, in many areas, the world is becoming more open to immoral activities; however, it is also giving us the freedom to stand against and conquer the devil’s temptations.
Many opportunities are open to us as Christians through the media itself. We tend to not take advantage of the artistic ways of spreading God’s word, such as through television shows, newspapers, books, posters, and even online magazines. Hopefully, though, with the ever growing popularity of media in our daily lives, we can help the world grow not only in the advancements of technology, but spiritually as well.
Freedom Book of the Month
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
Many books have been written describing the effects of war on the average person in order to attempt to explain how much freedom means to the human-being; however, most of these books bore the average teenage girl. We tend to be more interested in social issues than political motifs. To solve this problem of boredom, while reading a classic war story, Ernest Hemingway wrote a book called A Farewell to Arms.
Although I am quite certain he didn’t intend the book to be directed toward the teenage-girl audience, he did an excellent job of relating it to social issues while including a war background.
Set during World War I, this novel tells the story of an American ambulance driver who is injured during the war and is placed in a foreign hospital. Combining graphic war images with love and death, Hemingway captures the picture of war surrounded by seemingly real characters. Be prepared to fight back the tears as you embrace the price of freedom in its original form.
By Sarah Brown
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