Unfortunately,
our first human ancestors decided to go their own way, and ended up creating a
world of selfishness and destruction.
“I have set before
you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that
you may live, you and your descendants.”
~
Deuteronomy 30:19
In
the beginning, God set before us a commandment, not to eat of the tree of good
and evil (Genesis 2:16–17). There was
only one choice to make it right.
After
men fell, during the Old Testament Age, Moses brought the 10 Commandments to
give people limits. When Jesus arrived,
he opened up the New Testament Age, and he told his disciples to love God, and
to love their fellow men. Now, in the
Completed Testament Age, True Parents have given us only one direction and that
is “to discover God’s Heart.” It looks
like mankind came around full circle to finally start this relationship right:
as spiritual beings we can be one with the all-mighty, all-knowing, omnipotent,
omnipresent, and awesome God. That means
we can be like him, becoming true sons and daughters, just like Jesus, the
first-born son and savior.
"For
you were called to freedom, brothers.
Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but
through love serve one another.”
~
Galatians 5:13
Paradox
of Choice
I
was reading a book by the same name and learned from Barry Schwartz, the author, that the
more choices we have, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not
happier but more dissatisfied.
He
talks about the overload of choices, and how it can make some people sick and
overwhelmed. Mr. Schwartz proves that we
can only experience true freedom when we can accept limits, either self-imposed
through discipline or through laws or given traditions.
“Therefore be careful
how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time,
because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the
will of the Lord is.”
~
Ephesians 5:15-17
The
Power of Choice
Man
was given free will: http://www.inspiration-for-singles.com/power-of-choice.html
Figure
out what you really want: http://itsallaboutwomen.com/mind/how-do-you-figure-out-what-it-is-that-you-want/
Choices
give us motivation:
Freedom
with limits make us feel safer: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/201203/why-french-kids-dont-have-adhd
Consistently
enforced limits, in the French view, make children feel safe and secure. Clear
limits, they believe, actually make a child feel happier and safer—something
that is congruent with my own experience as both a therapist and a parent.
"Since
man fell according to his own will, God lets man make his own choice about
whether to go to Satan or himself. If
the man chooses to go to God at this time then Satan must give in. If in making the offering this person becomes
completely one with the person in the Abel position and then wishes to stay on
God's side, Satan has nothing to say."
~Rev. Sun Myung Moon, "Day of All Things," 6.6.1978
Even
the law of the land gives us certain freedoms:
The First Amendment
The
First Amendment is perhaps the most important part of the Bill of Rights. It
protects five of the most basic
liberties. They are freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government to right
wrongs. These were the guarantees that the Antifederalists missed most in the
new Constitution.
Freedom
of Religion
Freedom
of religion means that the government may not force you to accept one set of
religious beliefs, nor may it interfere with the way you worship.
Freedom
of Speech
This
freedom entitles American citizens to say what they think, provided they do not
intentionally hurt someone else's reputation by making false accusations.
Neither may they make irresponsible statements deliberately harmful to others,
such as yelling, "Fire!" in a crowded theater when there is no fire.
There are many issues about which Americans disagree, from child-rearing
practices to baseball teams to Presidential candidates. Freedom of speech
enables people to state their opinions openly to try to convince others to
change their minds.
Freedom
of the Press
This
freedom makes it possible for Americans to keep informed about what is going on
in government. It helps them to be responsible citizens. Reporters and editors
can criticize the government without the risk of punishment, provided they do not
deliberately tell lies. Newspapers, magazines, and books, as well as television
and movie scripts, do not have to be submitted for government inspection before
they are published. This censorship would violate the First Amendment.
Freedom
of Assembly
This
freedom makes it possible for Americans to join clubs or political parties,
even if those groups represent unpopular views. Because of the First Amendment,
people can join groups to promote animal rights, the nuclear freeze, or
conservation. They can join groups to protest government intervention in Haiti,
imported clothes and shoes, toxic wastes, or aid to Serbia or Bosnia. By
sharing common interests, Americans can learn to work together. There are
groups devoted to the interests of young people. Scout troops and 4-H clubs are
but two examples.
Freedom
to Petition
This
important freedom allows people to tell the government what they think is
needed. They can try to prevent the government from acting in a certain way.
They can complain to the government without fear of penalty when things aren't
going the way they should. Source: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/explaining-bill-rights
"Each man must
for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong,
which course is
patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man.
To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor,
both to yourself and to your country."
~ Mark Twain
For
myself I have reserved a simple way of making decisions. I ask myself: does my
choice bring me closer to God or take me further away? For most of the important decisions that works
well for me. It gets harder when I have
to decide what to eat from a menu or what to wear for the day. But then again, those are not life-changing
choices.
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