Have you ever read the book of Exodus, where God, through Moses, led His people out of their slavery in Egypt, to freedom? And then immediately handed them down a list of commandments that might be seen as limiting their freedom, by telling them what they had to do and what they could not do. What kind of freedom is that? Ironic, isn't it?

We know that nothing God does is without purpose, so what is this seemingly contradictory relationship between freedom and the Ten Commandments?

We can understand this better by looking at the two kinds of freedom: there is both a negative freedom and a positive freedom. Negative freedom can be defined as “freedom from”. This means freedom from whatever would constrain us or our actions, needs or wants. Negative freedom is the foundation of all human and civil rights. The writers of our Declaration of Independence put it this way: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”

Positive freedom is “freedom to”. Freedom to be whatever we want to be, to pursue the things we choose, to allow us to live the lives we choose in the manner we choose. It is the right to pursue our own goals and our own happiness. This is the basis of things like the right to vote, the right to work where and how we choose, the right to an education. Positive freedom is what allows us to live a good life with homor and dignity, one that gives peace and protection to not only ourselves but to others. Positive freedom gives us a purpose and satisfaction.

The irony is this: in order to achieve our goals, our purpose, and our peace, we must have some restraints. We cannot just do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, and expect to achieve anything or have any kind of meaningful life. We have to wake up early to go to work or school, for instance, when what we really want is to just sleep awhile longer. We have to make an effort to have a kind and loving relationship with the important people in our lives, though we'd really prefer to be able to do what we please while they do what we want them to do.

These commandments were given to provide true freedom to the Israelites – not just freedom from slavery, but freedom to live in a manner that honors God and others. They are a blueprint showing them how to live lives filled with honor, peace, and purpose.

It is human nature to be self-centered and focus on our own desires. Our tendency to be self-indulgent and unaccountable has to be restrained to truly have a meaningful life; to achieve happiness and satisfaction. That, my friends, is the purpose of the Ten Commandments: to constrain our negative freedom so that we can live in the postive freedom, having a good life filled with meaning and purpose, as our Creator intended. That is true freedom!