Share it

Imagine a young man walking down the streets of a big city. He is surrounded by brightly lit advertising. Movie theaters, music halls, cabarets, and taverns lure him. Women accost him. An excited political mob tries to incite him to murder. Impurity and bloodshed, lying and deceit surround him like winds blowing from all sides. Darkness settles over his heart. The true face of things is veiled. He succumbs to the great delusion of corrupt and uncontrolled life. If this young man suddenly decides to obey one of these winds, does that make him free? Was it his free will acting? He may say yes, and even if he regrets it later, he may still think that he did what he wanted to do. Possibly. No doubt he was free to do evil. But he was not free to do good when he did things that later caused him remorse. It certainly was will, but it was not free will. His will was just as badly enslaved and subjugated as the free balloon drifting out over sea or desert.