The Purpose of Freedom and Natural Law

Why do bad things happen to good people and it's companion question of why do good things happen to bad people continue to be a mystery to most people. Philosophers and theologians have contemplated it for thousands of years. The effect of freedom and the result of having the opportunity to make choices creates the diversity of situations and consequences that affect our lives.

Tyranny is the suppression of freedom and choice.  God does not enforce his laws by tyranny as some have fallaciously implied.  He has instead placed us here to be free to choose our path in mortality and at the present time we don't receive the full impact of our choices, that least based on the good and evil of their intent.  At some future time however the full measure of the consequences of our actions will be ours to account for.  God's purpose is to improve our character by leading us, not ruling our life by force.  This is one reason that bad things happen to almost everyone.

Misguided politicians have based much legislation on trying to eliminate negative consequences in the world by eliminating freedom.   They have sought with legislation and force to control people rather than improving their character through leadership.  The idea that such eventual tyranny should have the potential to eliminate the world's problems from occurring is false. The thought process of progressive politicians only begets  a  ruler or group of rulers that would use power to control people through force.  These types advance their own self interest and would destroy those that understand and promote the purpose of freedom. 

Can politicians eliminate every act of evil and vice?  They can pass laws but still not eliminate stupidity or ignorance.  The can make it illegal to discriminate but they can't eliminate prejudice. They do not legislate on the basis of love or concern. They do it based on the emotional reaction of someone that has experienced an unfortunate event.  It could be the loss of a loved one or losing their life's savings to a crook.  They fail to account for the purpose of our existence when they legislate away legitimate choices.   Yes bad people should be punished here and now but our system of justice is very imperfect.  It can make criminals of honest citizens or criminals into honest politicians depending on the laws they pass and they have done so.

Looking from an eternal perspective we should see that our innate intelligence can only expand if it has some way of gaining experience.  God doesn't just force it into us.  

Experience only comes from actually existing (like we do at this present time) and then actually living somewhere (like this earth) where an individual can make choices and experience the consequences of those choices.  Not only do we experience the results of our own choices but also the choices of many others that affect us positively and negatively.  How we react to any of our circumstances is our choice. 

God has given us an opportunity to be free in so far as our ability to make choices is concerned.  Many have used that freedom to acquire such power as to limit the choices of others and even to harm others.  This freedom we experience on earth comes with virtually no restrictions on choice, but all choices have consequences, some of which are eternal.  He has warned us that such is the case and shown us a path based on his eternal laws that will help us avoid some of the worst pitfalls of life.  

Many choose to ignore those warnings and proceed at their own volition to do what ever they might imagine. The warnings are not meant to restrict us. They are meant to allow us to be free and freedom only comes when we are congruent with our eternal identity which is grounded in eternal unchangeable truth.  

If freedom is to be a part of our eternal existence then we must understand something of the laws that govern it.  What so many people fail to grasp is the concept of eternal justice or eternal laws that govern our very existence and the process of creation. There are penalties that exist not because God is a vengeful god but because they exist independently and are immutable, meaning they will never change as natural law. The founders of this nation understood the role of natural law.

The only way to be completely free is to live in compliance with all the natural laws that we might be subject to.  Such natural laws operate on system of perfect justice, something that we don't fully understand at the present time. They respect none that violate them and all penalties will be enforced. The penalty is the natural negative consequence of a broken law.  On earth penalties for breaking the laws of man are only enforced when the offender is caught breaking the law.  Man's law may not always be just or even right.  There is no natural consequence for violating them and they can be selectively enforced by those enforcing them. 

Most of us however are familiar with the concept of natural law whether we have studied it or not.    It is around us every day and yet we hardly pay any attention to it.  That is because our subconscious goal is to never violate it.  Some however use it to end their life.    

The law of gravity is easy to observe and the consequences of violating it are easy to determine. It's existence is also explainable when one understands the laws of physics.  The idea that for every action there is a reaction or effect.   So it is with our choices.  They propel us forward or backwards in our progress through life.  Each one has a power and direction associated with it, no matter how small it may be.

Everything in our life depends on the consistency of the physical laws including gravity.  All of our machines and movements are designed to work in harmony with it.  They have no other means of functioning.  They cannot violate it or else they would cease to function.  An airplane will start to fall the second it violates it. Our pains and aging come because of it and yet our physical strength is developed subject to it.  The elderly fall and break bones as do the young when they crash their bike.  So too is our very existence dependent on the perfect gravitational orbit around the sun. 

Some holding a flawed philosophy in our age and ages past have thought to conclude that there are no moral laws that would have binding effect on a persons soul or success in life.  We see this very prominently in our society today.  It is the result of our being free to think what ever we want and to use that freedom to guide our actions and pursue any whims.  


We pursue courses of action that we think will bring us pleasure and help is avoid pain.  Of course we do have those laws in our society that restrict us from harming others.  The real question is regarding the definition of harm.  What does it mean to infringe on someone else's freedom?   

What is important for us to realize regarding freedom, is that the law of gravity and other natural laws of physics govern our existence.  In the same fashion there are eternal spiritual laws that effect our eternal spirit.  The physical laws are the constant source of order in our world and the universe, not only with regard to our movements but with regard to the location that we maintain to our life source in the sun.  We wouldn't think of violating them except with a desire to harm ourselves.  

The natural eternal laws by which God governs are no less important than laws of physics, as both are his laws.  The only difference is that He has created this world in such a way and held at bay the immediate consequences of our choices so that we make decisions on the basis of our desires rather than the avoidance of punishment. There will however come a day of judgement when we will each account for our life choices and actions.  They will be weighed in the light of eternal law and our knowledge of good and bad and we will receive a just reward or punishment. 

The laws of God are eternal principles.  If we violate them we likewise experience an effect.  Repentance or changing when we recognize our wrong behavior is the process by which we treat those negative effects of broken spiritual laws.   Sin can be a cause of many ailments both physical and spiritual.    God has provided a way for us to live according to his eternal pattern.  It is our choice to follow or choose some other path.  Each path has its own reward but only one leads to the source of all happiness according to our eternal nature and eternal life with God.