I read an article by a friend today.
She said she used to dream of raising all the children of the world to know only peace--no fighting, no arguing, no wars, no conflict....how wonderful that sounds! She knows it can't be so (a very sensible person, she is). But still, it is a dream of many.
It made me think. What if? Why didn't God in his infinite wisdom make us a peaceful people? Why so much turmoil inside and out? Why do we compete, argue, covet? Why is money the be-all, end-all for so many of us?
Because God in His Infinite Wisdom knew what lay ahead.
If there were no anger, there would be no need to solve conflict.
If there were no conflict, there would be no opinion.
If there were no opinion, there would be no need for change.
If there was no change, we would be content to not bother trying.
Would we try to make strides in medicine? Illness is, after all, a human condition and not caused by God. Would we accept sickness? Would we have the knowledge and the spirit to fight to get well? Would we have the skills? Would we care?
Why bother with technology? Or why compete to make vegetables grow bigger and wheat fields to produce more? Who cares about the cost of gas? We would be too content to argue. Maybe there would be no need for cars because we would be content to walk.
To be sure, there would be no war. No race for space. No need for a military or police. Or even for government (which might be construed as a good thing).
Would there still be homeless and hungry? Would our compassion still exist? Or would the "keep the peace" mentality take over? Would the hungry, unwilling to make waves, tell anyone what they need? Or just quietly go off to die? Or would they even recognize the pain in the gut as hunger?
Would there be a need to praise and worship? No, because Satan, the author of our discontent, would not exist. No anger, no conflict, no place for Satan to do his dirty deeds. And if Satan did still exist? Then the discussion is moot because there would be wars and violence and arguing and discontent all because Lucifer never learned as a child to keep his paws off other peoples' things.
I would love to see a world of peace, but never one of total contentment. I love to watch the great talents of the world strive to make a better mousetrap.
It's all conjecture, of course. Fact is we live with teaching our children to turn the other cheek, to respect others' positions in life, to compete and cooperate and debate, to share opinions in a way to produce thought and conversation. Each has his own idea of right and wrong or good and evil.
It's called "free will".
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