Stephen
Terry, Director
The
Choices We Make
Commentary
for the April 13, 2019 Sabbath School Lesson
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says
is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,n and continues in it—not
forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they
do.” James 1:23-25, NIV
It is the rare child who realizes in childhood that even
in those early years, they are constructing an edifice that will persist for
their entire life. Whether that edifice stands the test of time or falls apart
when buffeted is often determined by the choices they make. With little experience
or knowledge, a child is faced with the possibility of fulfilling the greatest
potential or conversely, bringing disaster upon millions. More often than not,
choices are made that result in the latter rather than the former. For every
George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, or Nelson Mandela that labors to free people
from oppression there are far too many, molded in the image of Hitler, Stalin or
Mao who would enslave and even slaughter millions on the altar of their
narcissistic ambition. When the child has few tools to make the choices to grow
toward light instead of darkness, how are they to be equipped to make correct
decisions? Are we without hope when faced with the overwhelming tide of evil
that seems to sweep through the hearts of men and women everywhere? Fortunately
God has not left us without means in this world to assure hope and a future
even when traversing dark passages.[i] He continually provides
light to illuminate our path[ii] and aid us in making clear
choices. In order to understand how this happens, we need only revisit the
Creation account.
In the genesis of all things, we discover that people
are not intended to be solitary.[iii] Within the family, there
is a broader scope of experience-based wisdom to draw upon and that pool
extends to tribes, states, countries and even the global community in our day.
Within each circle, whether the circle is of a single family or an entire
society, there are those who specialize according to their talents in various
occupations. The same family may have a person who is a skilled musician, another,
with an engine3ering mind, might be an excellent mechanic and depending on the
era, able to keep an ancient, wheeled cart, or a modern, iron engine running.
Someone may be skilled at designing and constructing clothing or footwear.
Still another may be able to take the poorest fare and turn it into a
nourishing meal fit for a king. Within this circle a child can draw on the
experience of others to develop skills that would have to otherwise be learned
over many decades through trial and error. This is true also of morality and
our place in the universe in relation to God.
Families tend to pass on not only mechanical skills but
also what they have been able to surmise about their place in the world. In the
Genesis account, that included recognition of God as Creator of the world, including
mankind. God was intimately involved with his creation, walking and talking personally
with them. This allowed them to share with one another and their children,
based on their actual experience, the implications of that relationship. Perhaps
one of the most profound features was that it was that the relationship was familial. Let me explain. Many of us have had the joy of
sorting through old photographs that illustrate the history of our families.
When we look at those photos of past generations, we are able to see
similarities between us and them. Perhaps we notice a high forehead or a
distinctively shaped nose or chin that we consider family traits uniting us
physically with our forebears. According to Genesis, mankind was created in God’s
image.[iv] Therefore, during the
time when mankind was intimately involved with God, it may have been possible
to look into the face of God and see for ourselves how we were connected
through the familial traits seen in him. But for us that relationship likely
transcended mere physical aspects and extended to character as well. However,
character cannot exist in a mere automaton. Character, whether good or bad, can
only exist in a being with free will. Of course free will includes the right to
maintain or sever relationships, including those with one’s creator. In the
story of Cain and Abel we see exactly that as Abel chooses to nurture that
relationship and Cain chooses to go his own way. While this is sad enough, it
is made even more tragic as Cain apparently severs his relationship with his
family as well, moving away and losing the day-to-day access to the knowledge
and experience they represented. Over time the desire to go one’s own way
without regard to family became so powerful that almost all gave in to that
desire, and only a handful continued to work together as a family unit in close
relationship with God. Drawing upon the oral accounts of generations of
experience, they found a path to salvation not apparent to the rest of the
world and survived an extinction event that essentially allowed for a
re-genesis, a second chance to “get it right.”
Sadly, while those oral accounts continued to be passed
down, few took them seriously enough to find foundation for their own character.
Even in the most faithful familial line, the sons of Jacob decided to sell
their brother into slavery because his presence continually reminded them that
their daily choices could either bring them closer or drive them farther from
the familial relationship they could have with God, much as Abel had done for
Cain. Their selling of their brother demonstrated that they preferred Cain’s
path to Abel’s, and like Cain, it represented a denial of familial bonds, and
through that denial, denial of a relationship to God as well. Unable to
understand that what we project to the world will come back to us, they did not
see that selling their brother into eventual slavery in Egypt portended their descendant’s
future slavery to the Egyptians. They also failed to understand Joseph’s visions that had predicted the family’s obeisance to him, and even
that was realized.
Sadly, it seems as though the choices many of us make
are more likely to lead us into a similar enslavement. Rather than rely on the wisdom
and experiences that have guided families for generations and the faith
traditions that have often produced giants of intellect and morality, we eschew
all of that in favor of our own desires and intellect. Some may challenge that,
based on widespread access to information and experience through the World Wide
Web. However, in spite of the potential inherent in such a resource, many
simply stake out a corner of a social media platform and create an echo chamber
where they encourage the development of “friendships” that readily feed them
reinforcement for those things they already believe to be true. Anyone who
challenges the echoing statements bouncing about that virtual enclave is often “blocked,”
and the artificial fantasyland goes on drawing in more and more groupies for
that perspective. In order to draw others in, trolling memes are posted across
social media, and the fish, wandering away from the safety of their normal
school, bite on the troll and are reeled in by appeals to their independence
and vanity.
Once one comes to believe that their family is against
them and unfairly restricting their freedom of action and belief, it is only a
small step to believing the same thing about society in general. This is the
foundation for every conspiracy theory. While many are created out of pure
fancy, they all assert that the individual is smarter than everyone else, no
matter their level of expertise. If we look at it from the perspective of the
list of skills from the second paragraph above, the musician knows nothing
about music and our personal tastes define what “real” music is. The music
industry is just another conspiracy to push its ideas on us. The engineers know
how to design a perfect automobile, but they are engaged in a conspiracy to
prevent the development of one so that the auto industry can make more money. The
clothing industry is just a vast conspiracy to get us all dressing the same and
destroy our individuality. These statements are only intended to reflect the
thought processes of those who see conspiracies everywhere. Real life examples
abound in social media. Conspiracy echo chambers regarding medical
professionals, politicians, religion and many other obsessions born out of fear
can easily be found. Unfortunately, these ideas are very effective in driving a
wedge between us and the opportunity to grow based on a secure familial
foundation. Many no longer listen to family or seek input from them if they are
not part of their favorite echo chambers. Consequently, when we reject that
familial association, like Cain, we often reject the head of the family that
started it all – God.
