Coming back to live in my parent’s house, I am staying in the bedroom I grew up in. There is a gigantic Pin Oak tree in the backyard that happens to sit just outside my bedroom windows. Off and on, for decades now, I have watched the same squirrel family live inside the nest they built probably 35 years ago. Year after year, new squirrel babies are born, and they grow up only to use the same nest for their new family. One year we even found a baby squirrel on our porch. He was not in good shape and we tried to nurse him back to health but sadly nature took its course. I’ve spent hours and hours being mesmerized by these squirrels, whether it was watching them build and rebuild their nest, or jump from branch to branch, or collect food off of the ground that we would put out for them. Nature was made for us to enjoy like that.
As fascinating and mesmerizing as they can be, I also find it extremely interesting how robotic it all is. They perform the same activities repeatedly, based solely on survival. Their only worries are where to build shelter to live and protect their young, and where to find food. Sounds like us, right? Humans’ most basic instinct is survival. Building a home to shelter themselves and their families and finding food and water to sustain life. Sounds like we are just like animals, right? When’s the last time you asked a squirrel what they did for a living? Or where they went to school? How about where they attended church, or if they believed in God? What about their squirrel vacations? Any marital problems? Do you know if the squirrels in your yard are social distancing and obeying the mask mandates? Notice how the list of differences between us humans and animals begin to pile and pile? The main difference that separates us from every single animal under the sun, is choice.
Free will is the most important component of our humanity. Besides the many other obvious differences between humans and animals, free will is what separates us into our vastly different and difficult, yet brilliantly unique species. Having the ability to make a choice may seem like the simplest concept to us all because that’s all we’ve known our whole lives. We open our pantry and decide if we want Cheez-its or Pretzels. Whatever mood our taste buds are telling us we’re in, we grab either box and we go on with our snack time. But what about the more serious choices with serious consequences? What college do I go to? What career path should I choose? Should I have kids or not? Should I try drugs? Should I watch that porn? Should I have sex before I’m ready? Before marriage? Do I believe in God and should I follow this set of guidelines if I do? As I type, I’m watching a squirrel sit perfectly still on the very large branch outside his nest. It seems like he’s enjoying the nice breeze. But is he contemplating any of the choices I just listed? Is he worried about losing his job because of covid_19? Does he need to quit his job in order to stay at home with the squirrel babies because they can’t go to school? Did he forget his mask before he left the nest? I don’t have to guess. The answer is no. In the current situation of our world in 2020, I’m not sure Mr. Squirrel realizes what a luxury that is.
When I turn on the news and see all the hatred, it makes me want to shrink into a squirrel and join my friend on the branch and stare off into the breeze and think about absolutely nothing. But God didn’t choose to make me into an animal. He chose to make me a human, in his image and likeness. He chose not to make me a robot. He gave me the ability to think for myself, and therefore to choose for myself. I recently spoke with a friend of mine who suffered a great loss in his family due to addiction. I have experienced my own addiction and know many others who have as well. Addiction is one of the worst human experiences. It’s terrible for not only the person suffering the addiction, but also for those around him or her watching it happen and unable to do much about it. The reason why addiction is so terrible, besides the very many obvious reasons, is that it all stems from a choice. There are rare cases where forces outside our control led to addiction, but for the most part it all began with a simple choice we made ourselves. Knowing you made the choice doesn’t help, and guilt is a terrible consequence of that, but this is what separates us from those squirrels.
Our ability to choose for ourselves is a blessing and a curse. The curse is what people tend to dwell on. But what about the blessings?! What about all the bad choices we’ve made that have led to hurting ourselves and others, but then the decision to reverse that course like choosing to say sorry and ask and receive forgiveness? What about choosing to leave your addiction behind? How about choosing to love your neighbor, or better yet, choosing to love your enemy? Choosing to help others, choosing to be compassionate, even just choosing to listen instead of talk. All these choices are such blessings. But it’s up to us! That’s what truly makes us so special. Our ability to choose to do good. God did not want robots. What reward is there in everyone doing the same things just because they were programmed to be that way? There is absolutely nothing desirable about that.
I don’t want anyone to love me, let alone be friends with me, because they were forced to. Or even worse, simply programmed to. How insane would that be? That’s why relationships between humans are so fascinating and so special. Whether it is your parents, your children, your husband or wife, girlfriend or boyfriend, or just a best friend…knowing that someone else is choosing to be in your life and love you, while you reciprocate that same feeling is truly a one of a kind experience. Animals bond with their young, and often times with packs of their same species, but they don’t go through fights, arguments, divorces, political debates, battles of the sexes, and who’s God is the right one discussions over Thanksgiving dinner like we do as humans. It’s the ‘going through the obstacles and hardships that relationships bring and choosing to stick it out and love the other person regardless’ that make us humans so special and unique and separate from any other species on earth. It’s the free will we have, that we were given!
Non-believers struggle to understand this. I CHOOSE to be in a relationship with God. Even though he created me, he didn’t ever force me to choose Him. That was never the point. Because, like us humans, what reward would there be for God if I only chose Him and loved him out of some form of robotic programming? No. We are made in His image and likeness so it’s the only way. Free will. And just like any other decision we could possibly make in life, that one has consequences just the same. They can be good or bad. Our relationship with God is no different than with any human on earth. There will be stages of anger, sadness, and absolute pure joy and peace. Like in the movie “Free Willy”, God will be there to guide us over the rocks blocking our way, but we must be “free willing”. We were never given the promise that life would be easy, just that God would be along for the ride through the good times and the bad. And if we make the choice, the rewards would eventually be eternal. And as tough as it is sometimes, I’m freely willing to choose to believe in and accept that promise.
If anybody cares what I think, and most people dont 🤷♂️ 