Mission: Impossible

Are cars loyal?

Think about it.

A car will wait in the driveway through the rain and snow. It will be ready to drive anywhere at the turn of a key. It accelerates and brakes on command without question.

Is this not an astounding display of loyalty? And yet, never would we say that a car is loyal.

What about houses? Could I describe a house as loyal?

It stands firm against the elements. It keeps you warm and gives you a place to call home. It never says, “Now it is my turn to be on the inside and your turn to be the guardian”.

Again, is this not loyalty at its finest? But no one would ever describe a house as being loyal.

Why?

Because cars and houses have no other options. They simply do what they were designed to do. A car drives, and a house stands. Cars and houses lack choice.

And absent choice, there is no loyalty. Absent choice, there is no virtue or even love.

Only through choice do loyalty, virtue, and love become valid options. This freedom to choose is undoubtedly a beautiful thing, but it does not arrive on the doorstep empty-handed. It bears a bittersweet gift: consequence.

Cars have no choice. They are not loyal, they do not embody virtue, and they cannot love. We humans, though, are fundamentally different from cars.

We are decision makers.

The life we live is largely the accumulation of the consequences of our decisions. Epictetus once said it best with these words: “If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be.”

Now, I’m sure many of you are familiar with the classic opening scene of the “Mission: Impossible” movies: Tom Cruise’s character receives an electronic device that, in some manner or another, communicates, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…” Then he tosses the device away, it self-destructs, and the theme song plays over a montage.

I mention this because this scene is not only great cinema, but also a powerful metaphor for life. Our lives seem to be built upon this statement: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…

Consider this for a moment…

On many occasions, I have written that the truth has an inherent value. I have often iterated that striving to see reality for what it is and acting accordingly is a good thing. That is simply something I value.

BUT … I don’t have to value Truth. I value it by choice.

I could choose to prefer lies and deception. I could choose to believe there is no such thing as an objective Truth and reality.

It is up to me to decide.

And whatever I decide determines my actions as well as the consequences which await me.

Here is another thought…

I choose to believe that the God who is described in the writings of the Bible is real. I find the evidence compelling, so I believe in Him.

BUT, again, I do not have to believe in Him. I can freely choose Atheism, Buddhism, the Greek Olympian Gods, the Norse Gods, Agnosticism (read more about that here), or any other worldview.

This brings me back to the example of the car with which I began: If I do not have the power to choose, is it possible for me to be loyal, can I be virtuous, can I love?

I do not think so.

My car does not drive me places because it chooses to love me. It drives me places because it has no choice. We humans are not cars. We have a choice.

Where does “Mission: Impossible” fit in?

I do not have to love my brother. I can if I want to, but I do not have to. However, once I choose to believe in the Most-High God who is described in biblical literature, I am commanded to love my brother.

I am free to make my own decisions, and once I do, the prescriptive “should” first comes into play…

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…” – Tom Cruise decides if he wants to accept the mission. If he does, action follows. The same counts for us.

If I choose to follow God and yet hate Him and hate my neighbor, then I am a hypocrite and a false follower. If I choose to follow God, my life should change.

In conclusion, before a “mission” is accepted, there is no prescriptive “should”.

I strongly encourage people to…

• Value Truth

• Search for purpose

• Read the scriptures

• Exercise self-honesty

I also encourage people to seek God – not because they should, but because I believe He is the Truth.

But I cannot tell anyone what they should do.

Just as much as I wish for someone to value Truth, they can prefer darkness and deception. Just as much as I can encourage someone to search for purpose, they can choose to seek only pleasure. Just as I can long for someone to read the Bible, they can claim it is filled with fairytales.

We all have our choices to make, and we all have the consequences thereof to bear.

Perhaps one of the great tragedies of life is that, all too often, we fail to recognize the gravity of our decisions. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that, all too often, we fail to realize that there are even decisions to be made.