I bet I can start a discussion with two words: Free Will
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If you look at my message, you can see that I only used two words within the context of the sentence. And that's true alongside the fact that I used 15 words. I said, "with two words: (the colon shows that I'm about to show you those two words) free will". You are right in what I believe free will to be, the ability to do what you want the most within the constraints of our physical reality.Howdy and welcome to the forum.
You used WAY more than two words though. You used fifteen.
But... You have free will to use as many words as you like, I guess.
Hmmm...
There's a webcomic called xkcd. They have an xkcd for just everything.
"Sometimes it terrifies me to think how many options other people have."
You will always do what you want the most. In this comic, he is doing what he wants most. When you go by the social rules, you are doing what you want most. Keep in mind: You can desire to do something you hate and despise.Hmmm...
There's a webcomic called xkcd. They have an xkcd for just everything.
"Sometimes it terrifies me to think how many options other people have."
Oh I do that six days a week. I don't really hate and despise it, but I certainly don't enjoy it. I'm about to go to it here in four hours or so. I'm trying to not think about it.
But it's the preferable option, because I like having money to buy food and shoes and gas and stuff.
Many people deliberately make the choice to forego all these comforts. They want freedom from doing what someone else tells them to do, and they want it so much that they would rather live without stuff than do what someone tells them to do.
Next time you feel like complaining about your job, remember it's not a prison. You can walk out any time you want. How bad do you want it?
That's a great point! You are allowed to choose to become unemployed to not have to do someone if that's what you want most. You used a very interesting phrase I find very applicable and smart to use in this discussion that hits us personally and forces us to think practically: "How bad so you want it?" That phrase is the bomb right there. If you want it the most, then you will do it when that time comes. Some people, yes, decide to live a life of poverty because they feel like being under a boss eliminates their free will. But as you are pointing out, in fact, you are doing exactly what you want to do! Yes, you don't have to. No one does. But we do because we have a greater need and motivation, likely money, food, or a girl at the workplace *cough cough* (lol). This is the thing that people should realize that they aren't being held against their will (unless they literally were, a bad guy doing "bad things" to you), and can do whatever you want. Once people realize this, they realize they are much more free to "punch that man's face" whenever they want, literally.
That's the terrifying part. We've been trying real hard for decades to take God out of the equation. That makes life hopless. A person with freedom and no hope starts thinking maybe the best thing to do with a pointless life is to go out with a bang.
Hence the recent school/mall shootings.
Honestly I'm surprised it has taken this long for them to escalate. I predicted a lot more by this time. But the incidence rate is growing. I saw one on the news just last night.
Yeah, that's a great example of what we've been discussing! It's unfortunate for sure. Too bad out world is this way, and it's too bad because it's our fault! We are sinners, but thank God He saved our hearts! Not because what we have done, but because of His great mercy. It happens because of sin, as you know, and we all have it, but God graciously has a restraint on our sin. It's because of our nature, and all the more why we need God to save our hearts
As I stated before, free will is the ability to do what you want the most within the constraints of our physical reality. I know that many people are still slaves. This in a way applies to work and employees. Slaves obey for a greater want. They don't want to die. Employees obey for the same reason, a greater want, for money. What about flying? What if a kid wants to fly? He can try, but free will is limited within whatever reality you exist in. Your free will will be limited always be limited to whatever reality you exist in. Any confusion? Let me know!
I know. Those are not the words I was intending to start a conversation. Look at the title of the thread.
That's what was in my mind when I wrote this. The Spirit of God desires within us to do good things, but we still live in the flesh, that desires bad things. Whichever desire ends up being stronger will be done.
Lol. In fact, you are always using free will, doing what you want most, and it was your desire to do that.