4-30 “Only through the exercise of the greatest freedom”
4-30 “It is only through the exercise of the greatest freedom that the greatest growth is achieved”
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> It is only through the exercise of the greatest freedom that the greatest growth is achieved—or even possible. If all you are doing is following someone else’s rules, then you have not grown; you have obeyed.
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> Contrary to your constructions, obedience is not what I want from you. Obedience is not growth, and growth is what I desire.
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> (CWG 2:76)
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> God is fully loving because God is fully free. To be fully free is to be fully joyful, because full freedom creates the space for every joyful experience. Freedom is the basic nature of God. It is also the basic nature of the human soul.
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> (Friendship With God, Chapter 15)
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According to Conversations with God, freedom is essential for the growth of the human soul.
Through free will, human beings make countless choices throughout their lives. It is through these choices that they experience and express their own divinity.
Freedom is the essential nature of God, and it is also the essential nature of the human soul. Without freedom, genuine spiritual growth cannot occur.
Whenever our freedom is restricted—through coercion, control, or the expectations of others—we begin living according to someone else’s beliefs and experiences rather than creating our own. Such a life may produce conformity, but it cannot produce authentic growth.
In many ways, the history of humanity is the history of expanding freedom.
Through economic development, people have gained freedom from material poverty. Through industrialization and greater efficiency, they have gained more freedom over their time. Advances in transportation and communication have expanded freedom across distance. Political revolutions have brought greater political and cultural liberty. Privacy rights have protected the freedom of personal life. Religious and spiritual practices have sought freedom from attachment to worldly desires.
Throughout history, humanity has steadily expanded the sphere of human freedom.
The degree of freedom within a society may therefore be one of the best measures of how fully human beings are able to grow and realize their potential.
On a more personal level, our freedom from attachment, fear, and dependency is itself a measure of our spiritual maturity. The more inwardly free we become, the more completely we are able to express the divine nature that already exists within us.
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