Survival Choice
Imagine having free will and always using it wisely. That probability only exists with a total transformation of our character, priorities and preferences. Our beginning and our end is set and for the most part remains outside of our control. In-between those two significant events we have millions of choices. Some say that survival is an instinct, in fact that it is our primary instinct. So if we accept this primary instinct supposition, then WE must be the most important part of OUR lives? Compromise kicks in only under a few circumstances; 1) a greater love for others than for ourselves, 2) an extreme sense of duty or loyalty and 3) from the negative side, the dread of total despair. If you have family, you’ve already discovered an apparent flaw in this logic or premise! Children represent the love and loyalty exception noted above. In fact, there are many common examples of these exceptions, where our own lives take a back seat to the lives of others. Others whom we’ve made a free will choice to protect. Police and fire fighters make choices every day to put their own lives on the line for others. Soldiers often do the same. Jesus, made this choice for all of mankind. So then, if survival isn’t our primary instinct, then what is?
Love. Whether present or absent, love dominates all other psychological instincts which we might have. When love presents, it initiates our protective instincts, and when it’s absent, the resulting emptiness drives our negative feelings and behaviors. I believe that love equals life, as the most precious gifts given to us. Love requires participation. I would also submit that love, housed within of the flexible perimeter of our soul, represents the goodness of God within us. When we were told that we were created in God’s own image, I believe that only the soul reflects that, not the body. The soul is pure, the body is impure. When the soul is separated from the body, each decision will be made selflessly, for souls are natural survivors. God works to emphasize the soul and de-emphasize the body. This is why our spiritual transformation takes place from the inside out. The most important aspect of our being is the only part of us that will survive, the soul. Therefore, our survival instinct, needs to be focused entirely on the soul and should consider the only two possibilities: the unbeliever’s soul will be separated from God (love), while the believer’s soul will be united with God, each to exist respectively in misery or bliss, forever! Survival of the soul is guaranteed, it’s the huge disparity in the quality of that survival that’s at stake.
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE
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