free will and Taser guns

One of the biggest reasons for evil in the world is that God has given us a free will.

We are free to choose to do good and we are free to choose to do bad.

It is our choice.

Let's ask ourselves this question (from the book by J.P. Moreland, "The God Conversation"):

What if God took the radical step of setting a deadline for ridding the world of all evil?

What if God, this coming Sunday at midnight, stepped in and stopped all suffering caused by evil people doing evil things by using a TASER gun to stop the people doing wrong?

I read today that a Taser gun shoots a person with a temporary high-voltage current of electricity.  The makers of Taser guns claim that a shock lasting half a second will cause intense pain and muscle contraction.

Two or three seconds will cause a person to become dazed and drop to the ground.  Anything longer than three seconds will drop an attacker for up to 15 minutes.

The makers of Taser guns boast of a 95 percent compliance rate.  In other words, hit a person with enough electricity and you can get him to do (or stop doing) anything.

What if every time you and I choose to do wrong - God tasered us?

You start to tell a lie - and bam - you are hit with a half second zap.

You try to gossip - and bam - electrical volts shoot threw your body.

And the "worse" your sin, the stronger the voltage.

You rob someone - two seconds of shock.

You murder someone - you become incapacitated.

But what if evil thoughts caused us to be zapped?

And let's take this even further, what if God zapped us, not for sins of commission, but for the sins of omission as well?

What if God zapped us for failing to show mercy, kindness and justice.  What if God zapped us for failing to do right?

I believe that what we would have is a world full of twitchy people, longing for a day without a Taser.

Just a thought for a Wednesday.