Get Up and Bar the Door

Reading this poem led me, in a roundabout way, to consider the consequences of choice.

A wife and a husband have a disagreement about who should get up and lock the door, as neither of them wish to be the one to do so.  This results in their being robbed, insulted and almost assaulted while they stubbornly refuse to be the first to speak, until the husband, in desperation, finally does so, and his wife is so happy to have won the argument that she skips around on the floor.  None of the consequences of their obstinacy seem to weigh upon her.

On a larger scale, it led me to ponder one of the books I read lately, which shall remain nameless, but puts forth the theory that organized religion (and, as such, God) suppresses our "good" impulses, natural instincts, etc, etc, leading the author to the theory that God, who is responsible for such, should be overthrown.

What I cannot understand is how the author fails to realize what would happen if everyone simply did whatever they wanted to.  This might be enjoyable to a certain extent, but certainly would not be enjoyable for everyone, especially those whose rights were infringed upon.  The ultimate result of a state of being in which everyone simply did what they wanted would be not just ludicrous, but heinous, for an entire variety of reasons too numerous to write about here.

Religion exists (or should exist) to remind us to treat others as we would like to be treated.

God gives us free will because He is God...and He is only able to do so because He is God. If He were human, like us, He would find the consequences of such, with our limited understanding, unbearable, and would constantly intervene, as we often wish He would.

God gives us free will in the hope that we will make the right choices, not all of the time because it is impossible for us to do so, but most of the time, so that we can show our Love for Him and each other.  When we fail to do so, it is not God who is to blame for our failures.  Yet I think some of those who think God does not exist because bad things happen actually blame God, instead of free will.

If one stops and really thinks about it, our ability to control our own instincts and desires is what makes us godlike...and our ability to judge what is right and what is not is part of what reflects our being made in His image, as Immanuel Kant himself said when speaking of the categorical imperative.