Galatians 5:13 says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” The Bible links freedom and responsibility. Freedom is not the license to do whatever we want, but freedom to serve others in love. That is where the good life is found, according to Jesus.
But if we are free, why can’t we use our freedom to do whatever we want? Because Jesus said that “everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). If doing whatever we want to do involves sinning, then we are not free, because then it will be sin that enslaves us. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 that we “cannot serve two masters.” What we must do is freely choose to serve and obey God. Romans 6:18 says, “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness.” Either way, we are going to serve somebody (even Bob Dylan remembered that much from Sunday School — see song below). The Bible says “Do you not know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey; whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death; or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” So, we are told in I Peter 2:16, “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.”
All of the above Biblical truths are sung about in the 1982 Billboard top-ten hit I’ve Never Been to Me. This song was first released in 1977 and went nowhere. It was re-released (with some added lyrics) in 1982, and then it became a global hit, reaching #1 on the Australian charts and #3 in the United States. It was performed by Charlene both times. It is a beautiful song with a profound and powerful message. It is a message I think Jesus would agree with.
I will first tell you what the song is about, and then you can listen to the song and read the lyrics.
The singer is reflecting on her decision to pursue a care-free, pleasure-filled life. She has been free to do whatever she wanted. Her life has been glamorous, it has been fun, she has seen it all, and has done it all. But now she realizes she created a life that lacks everything that really matters, and her soul is empty.
The song title I’ve Never Been to Me expresses her growing awareness that despite traveling the world and experiencing endless external adventures, pleasures, and luxuries, she has never truly discovered, understood, or fulfilled her own inner self. It implies the speaker explored the world, but neglected her own soul. She sings, “I took the sweet life, I never knew I’d be bitter from the sweet.” She did not realize it would “cost so much to be free.” The sweetness she pursued turned out not to be the freedom believed it to be, but a kind of prison.
The words of the song are directed to another woman, one who has made far different choices. She is married and has a child, but she is tired (‘cursing her life… discontented’), and perhaps wishing she was free (and not so ‘regimented’). The woman singing the song tells her to not despise that which she has, and describes the bitterness that resulted from her own ‘sweet freedom.’ She now regrets her life of freedom and pleasure that has left her with no ties or commitments.
Free, but not free.
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“I’ve Never Been to Me” 1977/1982, performed by Charlene;
written and composed by Ron Miller and Ken Hirsch.
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[Verse 1] Hey, lady, you, lady cursing at your life,
You’re a discontented mother and a regimented wife.
I’ve no doubt you dream about the things you’ll never do,
But I wish someone had talked to me like I wanna talk to you.
[Verse 2] I’ve been to Georgia and California and anywhere I could run,
Took the hand of a preacher man and we made love in the sun.
But I ran out of places and friendly faces, because I had to be free.
[Chorus] I’ve been to paradise,
But I’ve never been to me.
[Verse 3] Please lady, please, lady don’t just walk away,
‘Cause I have this need to tell you why I’m all alone today.
I can see so much of me still living in your eyes.
Won’t you share a part of a weary heart
That has lived a million lies?
[Verse 4] Oh, I’ve been to Nice and the isle of Greece,
When I sipped champagne on a yacht.
I moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo, and showed ’em what I’ve got.
I’ve been undressed by kings, and I’ve seen some things
That a woman ain’t supposed to see. [Chorus]
[Spoken Verse 5] Hey, you know what paradise is?
It’s a lie, a fantasy we create about
People and places as we’d like them to be.
But you know what truth is?
It’s that little baby you’re holding,
And it’s that man you fought with this morning;
The same one you’re going to make love with tonight.
That’s truth, that’s love
Sometimes I’ve been crying
For unborn children
That might have made me complete
But I, I took the sweet life.
I never knew I’d be bitter from the sweet.
I’ve spent my life exploring the subtle whoring
That costs too much to be free.
[Chorus]
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Romans 6:21 — What benefit did you receive from doing the things you are now ashamed of?
John 8:36 — (Jesus said), “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Galatians 5:1– It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
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O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom. Amen.
—Book of Common Prayer
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TWO MORE SONGS ABOUT FREEDOM:
Janis Joplin, “Me and Bobby McGee”
(released posthumously in 1971), written by Kris Kristofferson. The singer is free and has good times, but with no committed relationships or permanent place, she ends up alone and missing what she once had: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.”
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Bob Dylan, “You Gotta Serve Somebody” (Matthew 6:24 — “No one can serve two masters. “)
Refrain: “You’re gonna have to serve somebody; yes, Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord; But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
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