Many believe that God wanted people to be free to choose
their behavior. But, while being free to choose the "good,"
they are also free to choose evil behavior. If God wanted true
"children," rather than robots, there is always the risk that they
might abuse their gift of free will, and choose evil behavior.
A great deal of the suffering in this world really should
not be blamed on God. It results from mean, cruel, inhuman choices people
make. For example, people-initiated acts of greed, social prejudice,
racism or oppression, often lead to the evils of poverty and social
marginalization, resulting in misery and premature deaths to others, that could
have been avoided. Even with natural disasters like landslides and
floods, much of the suffering that results could be alleviated if people
helped out more in the aftermath.
However, this does not explain why God does not block the
harm to others caused by our bad choices. We do not let a child run out
in front of a speeding car, just to let him exercise his free will. We
would want to block major harm to that child! Why doesn't God do
that? Is the need for free will a good enough reason for all the options
of evil that seem to come with it?
Though we may not discern a reason why God might not have
always intervened directly so as to block evil, it is hard to believe that God
does not have a reason. His son Jesus suffered infinitely with us and for
us, on the Cross. Perhaps this shows that God actually is not
indifferent to suffering. Through Jesus he became "personally"
involved with suffering. Therefore, He would understand that it is
difficult for us to defeat evil.
As a Christian, I do not believe that I was born morally
neutral ---- it seems that from the beginning, I was biased toward
sinning. That is, in the exercise of my free will, I was apt to chose
what benefited me in some way, not a benefit for others. So, I am
grateful that someone named Jesus made a very great sacrifice to redeem these
mistakes. While I do have some power of decision in my daily life,
too often I seem to continue using my free will powers to please just myself,
not to benefit others.
There are so many ways we can reject God in our daily lives,
and then try to serve as our own god. We may seek pleasure in boosting
our ego, or in simple things like eating certain foods to excess. (Is it hard
for you to refuse a chocolate cookie?) For some folks, it is the
discovery of certain chemicals which give them relief from the pain and
anxieties of everyday life. In effect, they are surrendering to an outside
factor, but it is not God. If they do this frequently, it becomes a
habit, and then an addiction. By definition, that person has lost the
"free" from his free will.
On February 2, 2014, New York City police found the dead
body of Philip Seymour Hoffman, a highly-regarded film and stage actor.
Apparently, he had struggled with heroin addiction for some time and he seemed
to have died of a heroin-related overdose. A syringe was found in his
left arm. Often, an addiction begins with over-use at home of
prescription drugs. Heroin is well-known to be highly addictive, but we
have other addiction options.
Colorado and Washington State have legalized the public sale
of marijuana, and other states may follow. While marijuana may have
legitimate medical uses as a pain killer, it is not hard to see how it's
availability will draw-in new users, creating new addicts and compromising
their free exercise of God-given free will.
The smoking of tobacco products is less lethal than heron or
"pot", but it kills 480,000 Americans a year, reports the New York
Times. Kathleen Sebelius, former Secretary of Health and Human Services,
said that each day some 3,200 children under age 18 will try a cigarette and
700 will go on to become daily smokers. That means, she said, that 5.6
million American children alive today will die premature deaths because of
diseases linked to smoking.
Some good news reported by the New York Times ---- about 18%
of American adults smoke, but that is down from 42% in 1965. In New York
City, which has used a combination of steep taxes on cigarettes and bans on
smoking in public places, to discourage smokers, the decline is even greater, dropping
to 14%.
Alcohol consumption is another addiction for some
people. What all addictions have in common is that the victims have
surrendered control of their God-given judgment and capacity to choose freely.
Sometimes third-parties can bring an addiction victim back into self-control,
but usually it is not easy and it often takes the continued support of other
family members and friends ---- and even then, it is not a sure bet.
Perhaps the best course of action is alertness to potential
addictions, and then avoiding them as if our lives depended on it ---- as they
surely do! It may start as a desire or a longing.
Temptation starts when we think about giving in to desire, or about fulfilling
a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time. Temptation
always starts in one's mind, not in the circumstances outside of us. One
finally acts on the thought we have been toying with in our mind. What
began as an idea gets born into behavior. Now we give in, and the next
time we are challenged to take this action it is more difficult to say
"No." This is addiction, and it is self-reinforcing. At
that moment we think we know what's best for us ---- we act as if we think we
know more than God knows.
Addictions are the enemy of our God-given free will.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal
spiritual growth this spring at CPC.
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