God gave you free will and you’re using it right now believe it or not. You deciding to take some of your time and read this article is an example of you exercising of your free will. Thank you. You can never get that time back but using it to read this article hopefully will be to your benefit. Free will is a challenging human attribute to talk about as a mortal but I will give it my best based on scripture, history, and my experience. In the 2020 elections are you going to vote? Your answer and whether you decide to vote or not is you exercising your free will.
According to Merriam-Webster free will is a voluntary choice or decision. This is one human attribute you see that shows we’re not “all the way” robots. There are some areas of our lives we don’t have control of which makes life all the more dynamic. Let’s delve into some general ideas and explore the world of free will.
The Journey Begins
A person who decides to get up everyday and go to work exercises his or her free will. Chances are the company the person works for made an agreement with the person they would be paid after time worked. By agreeing to those terms the person employed by the company is exercising his/her free will and faith. In essence they are saying I agree to your terms and will oblige by showing up to work everyday until you either fire me, I quit, I retire, or I die. They are also exercising their faith because they are sure of what they hope for and certain of what they do not see. Their faith is displayed through their action of showing up to work believing they will be paid for their time.
Have you seen or read about companies that have gone bankrupt, needed a bailout over the course of time? Those companies had employees and those people through free will work(ed) for those companies believing they will/would have a stable job. Recessions come and go as do jobs, that’s apart of #life.
Yaweh (God) created the world (Genesis 1:1) of free will meaning we as people have the independent ability to decide what we want to believe, do, think, etc in life. From the beginning of time with Adam and Eve all the way up to today freewill continues to exist and thrive. There are countless examples of mankind using their freewill to benefit themselves and or others. I encourage you to Bing/Google it or go retro and go to your local library and do some research, I bet you can find at least one or two examples.
People use their freewill to do good and bad, to help and to harm. There was a recent story of a man who murdered 12 of his coworkers (Learn More Here) where he exercised his free will. I was sad to hear about it because it was wrong what he did, none of those 12 people knew the night before what would happen the next day. The shooter made a decision that would affect the lives of family, friends, colleagues… people. He acted on a thought, a decision and exercised his freewill. He was stopped in the end and it cost him his life. Was that the end or beginning of justice? Here is scripture to provide an eternal answer:
And I perceived the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. And scrolls were opened. And another scroll was opened which is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged by that which is written in the scrolls in accord with their acts. 13. And the sea gives up the dead in it, and death and the unseen give up the dead in them. And they were judged, each in accord with their acts. 14. And death and the unseen were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15. And if anyone was not found written in the scroll of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. (Reference Revelations 20:12-15 CLV)
Zap… we’re back from the near future. Based on what we just read this person will face judgement based on his acts and his judgment will be final. #sobering
Keep reading, or take a break and then keep reading. We’re going to explore more about freewill.
People can be influenced or subjected to the will of others.
If you watch TV you might like to watch movies, news, politics, sports, or some sort of entertainment. You might think TV is a waste of time and engulf yourself in reading. Someone thinks reading is a waste of time and would rather exhaust their time playing video games, work, or listening to music. In order to achieve any of these activities you have to exercise your freewill. When engaging in these activities you can be influenced or convinced to think a way you didn’t before.
Listening to the radio (if you do that kind of thing) is a good example of how someone can be influenced to liking something they didn’t like at first. Have you ever heard a song that at first you we’re like “I don’t like this”? The radio station plays it over and over and with each time you slowly start to go from resenting the song to liking the song? This scenario has happened to at least one person and we see a tool of influence in action.
When you look at the different forms of government around the world you’ll discover liberty of freewill and oppression of freewill. In some countries you can protest while in others you can’t. Freewill can be marginalized everywhere we are.
Revolution And Resistance
What is the most notable revolution or resistance movement you’ve read about in history? Depending on where you are and your age you might have experienced or be experiencing the makings of one now. Every now and then people get tired of the system they live in for any number of reasons. Corruption, greater distance between economic classes, suppression of human rights have been reasons. I bet you could share some reasons not mentioned. Often times in revolutions people get to the point where they’ve had enough and change is the only solution that will give them peace.
They’re so fed up they’re willing to put it all on the line and make the ultimate sacrifice for change or for their cause. Some people exercise their free will by protesting while others seek to disrupt political and social norms. How far would you go for fairness?
The Son Of Man exercised/exercises his free will
When Jesus came to earth to fulfill his destiny he exercised his free will. During his ministry of reconciliation to reunite the human race back with God he had full control of his free will. He did something that is powerful, he yielded his free will for you and me, for those who would, do, and will believe in him. He laid his life down only to raise it back up in power. He ascended to heaven and now intercedes for those who believe in him. He understood who he was, that he is the living son of God. Why is there a need for him to intercede?
20: And I hear a loud voice in heaven saying, “Just now came the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brethren was cast out, who was accusing them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:20 CLV
Jesus mission? To save you. From what? Eternal separation from God. How? God is coming back to live on earth. He is going to recreate earth. Revelation 21:1 You may say “I believe that”, “I don’t believe that”. Either way you are exercising your free will.
To be continued…
