Life is a series of CHOICES

I've come to understand that life is a struggle between good and evil. Every day, whether we are conscious of it or not, we make a series of choices. We choose what to wear, eat, drink, etc... Some choices that we make hold more importance then others, such as the choice to do right or wrong. It seems so easy to sin by lying, stealing or giving into temptation. I noticed this and I began to believe that human beings were innately evil. Yet once I took a closer look, I saw that there is a war raging within us, a battle between good and evil. I came across a story while reading The Devil and Miss Prym by Paul Coelho, which perfectly fit this situation.


The conversation below is between a vicious guy named Ahab (evil) and a saint name Savin (good):


Ahab asked Savin:


"If, tonight, the most beautiful prostitute in the village came in here, would you be able to see her as neither beautiful nor seductive?"


"No, but I would be able to control myself," the saint replied.


"And if I offered you a pile of gold coins to leave your cave in the mountain and come and join us, would you be able to look on that gold and see only pebbles?"


"No, but I would be able to control myself."


"And if you were sought by two brothers, one of whom hated you, and the other who saw you as a saint, would you be able to feel the same towards them both?"


"It would be very hard, but I would be able to control myself sufficiently to treat them both the same."


"A saint is just a sinner who fell down, and got up". Many people look at saints and think that they are flawless, yet all have fall short of the glory of God. No one on the face of the earth is without sin, so we are all unworthy to judge. However, the difference between a saint and a sinner is the choices they make. As demonstrated in the story above, even saints are tempted yet they CHOOSE the right path. They are fully aware of their flesh, but with the free will God has given us all they stand strong. It would be a lie for one to say they were never tempted to do wrong. Saying that you didn't notice the woman in the red dress is simply a lie. God is not asking us to not be aware of sin or to never have a sinful thought, what he wants from us is to CONTROL ourselves.


I ask you, who suffers more? A person who has never taken drugs to avoid it or an addict? Who should be rewarded more?