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I was going through my bible study and I remembered that God has everything to say about our lives. He created us with knowledge of how things will turn out and He made such we had a guide to help us live out our lives in abundance.

I have been wandering in my bible, reading up on stories about the Kings of then times and how they dealt with freedom of expression (this #UgBlogWeek topic), how God talks about it and what it means for us of these times. There is a lot in there.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).

According to the above scripture, we can only be free if we know the truth. Freedom of expression or speech is a basic human right but somehow it doesn’t always fit with the behavior God commands, especially when it comes to speaking of others. Like in;

  • The Third Commandment God forbids cursing and the abuse of God’s name ( Exodus 20:7 ).
  • the Ninth Commandment, speaking lies and other deceptive speech are forbidden (Exodus 20:16 ).
  • the book of Colossians prohibits the use of “filthy language” ( Colossians 3:8 ).

 

Christians do not have total freedom of speech. There are things we believe, ideas clearly taught in the Scriptures, that are now considered “hate speech” in our world of political correctness. A society that proudly proclaims freedom of speech and then creates laws against hate speech is talking out of both sides of its mouth.

Laws and governments aside, there are still what we might call “social laws” in place, and when Christians are faced with ostracization due to their beliefs, it certainly does not demonstrate freedom of speech. Many Christians throughout history have been persecuted by their societies due to their beliefs that did not line up with the status quo. A notable example is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whose refusal to bow down to the king’s idol landed them in the midst of a fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1–26). Add Daniel into this lot as he had a great night in the lions’ den

I have noticed how easy it is to get caught in a conversation where someone starts saying bad things about someone else and this occurs online often. The pseudoanonymity of social media and Internet forums enables many to make disparaging and often offensive remarks about others.  God has something to say about this as Titus 3:2 emphasises “speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men”.

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God knows very well that our tongues (and our typing fingers!) are capable of causing huge problems—the book of James uses the analogy of a forest fire to describe the results words can have ( James 3:5-9 ).

Most important is the attitude and intent with which we speak, which should be based in love—a sincere, outgoing concern for others. Rather than chains, God gives us freedom to use our tongues to speak “the truth in love” in order to edify those around us ( Ephesians 4:15 ).

So as christians we can’t exercise freedom of expression/ speech if we aim to hurt and speak out of hatred no matter how we feel, if we are tempted to do so we should talk to God in prayer and He will deal with it. We are asked to exercise love at all times no matter what. (there lies the hard paper but we have to try and obey)

 

Patricia Kahill

Patricia Kahill is a multipotentialite Christian entrepreneur, Content Marketing Coach and founder of the Content Marketing agency, Kahill Insights that helps business owners create engaging and interactive content items for digital platforms with a focus on returning a desired outcome. Patricia was the producer of SlamDunk Basketball Talk a show on House of Talent online TV, a former fellow at Harvest Institute for leadership and now an assessor there, and an alumnus of the YELP class of 2017. A member of the BNI Integrity chapter and African Women Entrepreneur Cooperative. She is driven by passion and curiosity, been taking every opportunity that has been given to her with an ambition of stamping her footprint on the world.


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4 thoughts on “#UgBlogWeek: God and Freedom of Expression”

  1. I think this is one of the best blogs I’ve read from you. Somewhere it says “Let your speech be seasoned with salt”. I hear you.

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