The Importance of Free Will

A couple lines from this Sunday’s scripture stood out for me. “Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice about to be revealed.”  (Isaiah 56:1)  And, “For God delivered all to disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all.” (Romans 11:32)  It seems God knows we will abuse our free will and make poor choices from time to time.  And yet, He showers His mercy upon us unfailingly.  This begs the question, why allow us to hurt ourselves by making bad choices in the first place?

Last Friday Rose and I took two of our granddaughters to see the new movie, “The Giver” which is based on the Newbery award winning novel of the same name.  In the book/movie the government has effectively removed everyone’s free will.  The result is a gray world with no conflict, no emotional outbursts, and no pain.  But is also a world devoid of love and therefore also absent of faith and hope.  People have no memory of their collective past, no history of the joy of love, nor pain and suffering, and no recollection of the horrors of war.  Their absence of emotion renders them capable of euthanizing infants without a thought, merely because they are slightly below average for their age.  It seems they have no conscience whatsoever. 

At one point in the movie, the head of government, played by Meryl Streep, makes that statement that freedom of choice had to be removed because invariably people always chose poorly.  Hence, the government making everyone’s choices for them, while medicating the populace daily to ensure the absence of emotion and compliance with governmental dictates.  Nobody questions anything, no muss, no fuss, just absolute control from the master planners. 

I read a few reviews about the movie and most of them downplayed it as a “wannabe” sci-fi tale,  maybe because it hits a little to close to home where our government seems to be steadily encroaching on our freedom.  Personally, I thought it was an outstanding portrayal of what happens when personal freedom is taken away in the name of saving us from ourselves, making us less than fully human.  The essence of our humanity is that we have both intellect to think for ourselves, and free will to make choices for good or bad.  God knows we will make mistakes and yet He forgives us, even to the point of dying on a cross for the salvation of sinners like us.  Jesus suffering and death is fresh in my mind, from having just finished reading “Killing Jesus” by O’Reilly and Dugard.  The pain and suffering inflicted on Jesus must have been unbearable, and yet He endured it out of love and mercy for all of us despite our unworthiness of His love.

Much of the pain and suffering we experience in this world is self-inflicted by the poor choices we make, often hurting those we live with and love the most.  Even the greatest love is accompanied by the pain of disappointment and regret, from time to time.   But unless we take the risks associated with love, unless we are willing to make ourselves vulnerable to our beloved, there can be no deep and abiding love.  Consider the emotional pain Jesus’ mother must have endured when she witnessed his torture and death.  Last Friday the Catholic Church celebrated Mary’s assumption into heaven.  Whether you believe this doctrine or not, you have to admit, Mary was special.  She was chosen to hold the life of Jesus within her womb, and to be his earthly mother, always there to care for her son, even at the foot of the cross.  One of the titles of honor the Church bestows on Mary is “Ark of the New Covenant.”  Just as the old Ark of the Covenant held within it the word of God (the tablets received by Moses), as well as manna from the desert,  and the rod of Aaron, these items portended the Word of God who became flesh, He who was the Bread of Life, the Good Shepard Himself.  Jesus, whose earthly life started in Mary’s womb, was all these things and more.  He instituted the new and eternal covenant upon which our salvation depends.

So as summer winds down, school starts up, football and volleyball resume, and life becomes more hectic once again, take a few moments to consider the importance of our free will and the many choices we are privileged to make.  The fact that we still live in a free country is a great blessing, one which we must work to preserve in the face of an encroaching government.  We are bound to make mistakes in our choices, but we have God’s promise that we can be forgiven, no matter how badly or how far we fall from His grace.