Free to Choose

by Robert F. Turner
as published in the February 21, 1999, edition of Life Lines

      Free agency, the right to choose, is a gift from God. He elevated man above the beasts of the field, making man in his image (Genesis 1:26), sharing with man the power of choice. Man need not be slave to instinct or norm. He may rise above self, pursue ideals, seek truth, and embrace it.

     But with power there is responsibility. The ability to choose the right exposes us to the danger of choosing the wrong. The same justice that rewards the righteous must also condemn the wicked. Freedom, then, cannot be free. Even in the moral realm it imposes obligations, and there are none more bound than those who foolishly demand unbridled liberty and become slaves of their own folly.