If I were God—mm-m-m, yes, I do love this sentence—if I were God, I would have taken one tiny improvement step during the creation of humankind: I would have kept my thumb on the scale when installing “Free Will” into each creature’s soul. Don’t get me wrong—this is for an excellent reason! The reason begins with knowing that our God has been beyond any imaginative genius when gathering the ingredients and colors to originate this beautiful Earth! Everything in balance (once), the air pure (once), the waters a crystal blue-green (once), forests and wetlands sharing space (once), humans in one-to-one contact with our Father God (once). But ‘once’ did not last long on the timetable of humanity’s existence. Mentally and emotionally, the Garden of Eden story prepares us for Part 2 of the story. The Holy Bible does not disappoint.

We know Cain and Abel as a mythological story, but like most stories, Truth lurks beneath its words. The first killing occurs and evil continues with a free reign. The glory of ‘free will’ receives more soul-darkening stains. What follows are encounters with stains too numerous to count. In the horror of brutality and wars, God shouts, “Enough!” and here comes the flood to wipe out humankind and begin anew. Smart God! Wait, not so smart! Here was the exact moment God needed to put his thumb on the scale of Free Will—just a very light touch. Needed—nay, required—was the touch that eradicated craziness, power-hungry, genocide-bent, killing-spree people, the makers of terror, and all warmongers. Replace these with a common-sense approach to controlling contaminated emotions and thinking. Really, God, did You not even consider this opportunity when the Flood Re-creation took place? Then, You could have so easily given us a break, allowing more time for humanity to mature into decent, loving people who eagerly follow the words of Saint Augustine: “Love God and Do What You Will.”