I've been thinking a lot about choice lately, and it sometimes seems to me that we don't really have much of a choice at all. It's true that life gives us many choices. At any given moment, we could choose to do any number of things. Throughout the course of our lives, we make countless choices, presenting us with a nearly-infinite set of options regarding the decisions we want to make. However, it doesn't always feel like I have a great deal of freedom, and that may be mostly because of consequences for choices.
If a person is on a beach with a sign that says "Danger! Sharks! No Swimming!" they do still technically have the option to go swimming anyway, but for most sane people, a sign like that would convince them that swimming there isn't really a valid option. If a person is standing on a narrow bridge, they could, theoretically, walk in any direction, but only two of those directions would allow them to walk more than a few steps without falling to their deaths. If a person is standing on a small rock in the middle of a field of molten lava, with a narrow bridge as their only path off that rock and to safety, how many options does that person really have?
Thankfully, life isn't quite that bleak or controlling, but it sometimes seems that way, especially when we consider that God has a plan for each of us. God's plans are usually good things. He wants what's best for us, and following His plan will lead us to the greatest happiness we can have. But the flipside of that is that doing anything other than following God's plan will lead us to a lesser amount of happiness. Either we follow God's plan for us, or we don't; either we obtain the greatest amount of happiness we can have, or we don't. Those really are our only two options.
This has become a rather frustrating personal struggle for me. I feel like, if I'm prompted to do something, or if a church leader gives me an assignment, or a friend or family member asks me to do some service, I really only have two options: either I "choose" to "do the right thing," or I don't. I want to have eternal peace and happiness, so I really have no option but to "choose the right." But when I have only one valid option, I don't really feel like I have any choice at all.
Maybe I'm being too narrow in my thinking. I know that
following God's plan and keeping His commandments is the only way to gain the kind of peace and happiness I'm looking for, but I'm not sure that His plan and commandments are really
as restrictive as they sometimes feel. It could be that there are far more good options than there seem to be. I may have made a false assumption about how narrow the bridge out of the
lava field really is. Sure, God's path is the only way to lasting
happiness, but there may be some wiggle room on that path. Some choices
are inconsequential, and we can make whichever choice we want without
falling off the path. Maybe I do have some freedom after all.
But as long as choices have
consequences, the results we want limit the choices we can make. We can't get to any place by walking away from it. We
can't get to the top of a mountain by going downhill, so if we want to
reach the top of that mountain, going downhill isn't really an option
for us. The same is true with heaven. We can't get to heaven by
sinning, so if we want to get to heaven, sinful behavior isn't a valid
option. Only Celestial behavior is. If we want to enjoy the rewards of being righteous, being righteous is the only valid choice we can make.
1 comment:
I sometimes feel somewhat like that. Life sometimes seems limited, largely because of past choices. I chose to marry what turned out to be the wrong man although I cannot much regret it for 8 plus 5 plus 8 (so far) very good reasons. I chose to get a divorce which replaced a lot of darkness with light, but meant I had to get full-time work at an age many people were starting to retire. I chose to have children which means my resources are not wholly my own and probably never will be. I have to get up and go to work every day whether I am tired or would rather work in the house or would rather visit my grandkids or go to the beach. Otherwise, no job, no paycheck, no house, food, car, etc.
There is, I think, no such thing as complete freedom. Choices lead to consequences. We cannot all sit at the beach all day every day and have food, shelter, and other needs met. We cannot all drive anywhere any direction any speed we want without the danger of accidents. If we were all sitting at that beach, there would be no cars or roads anyway. Or bathrooms.
You (and sometimes I) are yearning for something that does not exist, and probably would lead to temporary happiness at best anyway. Complete freedom cannot exist if it means choosing actions without suffering consequences.
We have choice. We choose the life we want and live for it. Or we choose not to follow the rules and accept the consequences.
I do not think that necessarily means you have to do every thing than anyone asks you to do. But you do have consider your decision. If you are being lazy or selfish, get up and do, and exercise your special gift of finding the joy in almost anything. If you are being exploited, for your own sake and the sake of others, stop letting them. If you are the one best suited for a task, even if you rather not, you probably should.
I know that sometimes, but not always!, we feel better doing the service or the right thing than we would feel if we did not, and sometimes we even really do enjoy it. Life is not about having a good time. Not in the traditional sense. But if we learn to appreciate and enjoy the good choices, we can be happy now andblater.
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