Creation and Morality

Do you remember the miners trapped in the San José mine in Chile? I remember following the story, along with my wife, since the collapse of the mine broke the news until the last of the miners was rescued. It was pretty impressive to follow the development of the story day by day with our emotions, not only from us but from society in general, on a roller coaster as witness of the progress, welcoming with joy every good news, but also with anxiety by ignoring what would happen next. By the end of the rescue operation, it is estimated an audience of over a billion people around the world, all hoping for a happy ending.

As humans, what makes us differentiate between right and wrong? In regard to the story cited in this commentary, where did the feelings of compassion, hope and joy of the successful rescue of each of the miners come from?  Why we wanted, despite belonging to different countries, and in many cases to different cultures and ethnicity, the preservation of their lives?

As a society we have identified certain rights belonging to every human being. Who decided them? Or are they already "installed in our system"? The Bible teaches that the human being, from its creation, was provided with certain privileges identified and defined, in Genesis, at least, to govern the rest of the species created by God, administer and use of land resources, the ability to form one flesh between a man and a woman, the capacity to reproduce, and the ability to decide.

With the freedom to choose, man was exposed, as a result of the conflict generated at the universal level by the complaints of Satan against the government of God, to know and choose the good, in other words, humans were created morally intelligent and free. Having said that, the fact that it was morally intelligent and free does not mean that was created foreign of the consequences of their decisions.  Yes, we are free to choos, but subject to the consequences of our decisions (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

Although free individuals, the Bible reminds us that we are not really ours. We were created so we have acquired a responsibility in relation to the role for which we were created, as individuals and in our relationships with others. Christ summarized it as follows: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 'This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:' Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets "(Matthew 22:37-40).

We are aware of what is good and what is bad, not by ourselves in an evolutionary process, a process exempt to the other spices. We were created with that ability. We know our responsibility toward God as a result of our creation, and our responsibility to the good of others. To mistreat ourselves physical, mental, social or spiritual is to abuse God's creation. Similarly, to physically abuse mentally, socially or spiritually others, including our enemies, is also mistreating God's creation. By acknowledging my origins and my freedom, as any other human being, implies, then, to recognize the responsibility for the welfare of my fellow man.

The famous statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:44-48, to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, is given in the context of the love due to our neighbor including our enemies, as Christ did (Romans 5:10). Christ did not return a favor to a human initiative through his rescue, but being "still sinners" he generated avenues for our salvation.  In the same way, God did not create us to live for ourselves, a well documented concept in His Word were specifies the tremendous impact in our eternal life.

As human beings we can differentiate wrong from right. When we recognize our origin  we understand the source of the feelings towards good, and we understand why, despite knowing good from evil, we tend towards evil. The Bible is clear, to do good is not the human product, is a divine gift. From this perspective, and aware of the process of salvation, through faith in the context of grace, it highlights our interaction towards the totality of God's creation as external evidence of our internal decision to be to the likeness of God .

Read:

• Genesis 2:16, 17
• Genesis 1:26-28
• James 3:9
• Acts 17:26
• Proverbs 14:31
• Matthew 5:44-48
• Revelation 20:11-13