Free Will and Terrible People
I don't have any questions for G-d. I know the answers. "When G-d created Man he gave him free will. This is what separates man from the angels." A friend once asked me why G-d just didn't make man with out evil desires (think 7 deadly sins). Man would still have the free will to do what he wanted, he just wouldn't want terrible things. To me, the answer was pretty obvious. The things we think of as "negative" desires are only negative when taken to excess. Greed is what motivates us to better ourselves, to craft a life for our children that is better than the one we had. Pride is what gives us the strength to stand when everything around us is collapsing. Fear is what motivates us to protect our loved ones and anger is what motivates us to help others. I imagine I'll get some disagreement with that last one, but think about it. Compassion and empathy may make you feel sorry for some suffering demographic, may even make you cry over a news story. But the last time you wrote your congressman, picked up a picket sign, or boycotted a store it wasn't because you were sad. It's because you were angry.
In order to have the freedom to do good, we must have the potential to do evil. Sometimes, though, someone does something so idiotic and senseless with their free will that I'm just left wondering, "Is it worth it?" Can we handle the responsibility? Do we even deserve the chance to see. Like idiotic 18 year olds voting for whoever had the funniest interview on the Tonight Show, we have so little appreciation for the privilege of choosing our own destinies that maybe we shouldn't be allowed to.
This is a time when faith is useful. Like a parent handing their teenager the keys, I trust that G-d is sitting at home, waiting by the phone, with bail money in hand and a lawyer on speed dial. Because he's willing to give us a chance to prove we're responsible, but he's not counting on it - and he has a plan.
Even if its just to be the shoulder we need to cry on.
In order to have the freedom to do good, we must have the potential to do evil. Sometimes, though, someone does something so idiotic and senseless with their free will that I'm just left wondering, "Is it worth it?" Can we handle the responsibility? Do we even deserve the chance to see. Like idiotic 18 year olds voting for whoever had the funniest interview on the Tonight Show, we have so little appreciation for the privilege of choosing our own destinies that maybe we shouldn't be allowed to.
This is a time when faith is useful. Like a parent handing their teenager the keys, I trust that G-d is sitting at home, waiting by the phone, with bail money in hand and a lawyer on speed dial. Because he's willing to give us a chance to prove we're responsible, but he's not counting on it - and he has a plan.
Even if its just to be the shoulder we need to cry on.