Monday; February 3


          The other day I preached a sermon on the presence of evil and violence in the world.  Following the service, one of my friends handed me a quote from his college professor, Tom Eddins that noted, “Where there is free will and the possibility to do good, there also exists the possibility to do evil.”.  As I pondered this quote I was struck by its natural truth.  Thanks to God’s insight we have been given the free will to choose our own course.  We are not mindless robots programmed to serve a tyrannical Supreme Being – we have a choice.  The great part about this is that when we choose to do what is good and right, we will be rewarded with positive feelings and spiritual blessings; however, there is another side to this equation.  You see, with free will comes the very real option of choosing to serve ourselves or promote evil.  Just as God will not force us to do good, He will not stop us from doing evil.  The reality of free will, though, is that there will be consequences for the bad choices we make.  God won’t necessarily save us from ourselves – or to use an old horseman’s expression – free will means He will give us our head and let us go where we choose.  Ultimately, when that happens, we will end up having to account for the direction we take.
          Let’s praise God for allowing us to enjoy free will, but let’s be cognizant of the impact of the choices we make.  When we are making decisions, we must accept responsibility for the consequences.
          Think About It!

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