BETWEEN CHOICE AND CONSTRAINT

The famous scientist Albert Einstein explained a principle of the physical world in these words:

“Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.”

This fact is evidence of the Creator’s absolute power. Human beings can only use the world as it exists. They cannot change it or wipe it out. From this we learn what a person’s true position in this world is. A human being is not the owner here—only a subject. In religious terms, this situation is called a test. A person comes into this world for a limited time to complete the paper of his test. After that, he must leave. Beyond this, he has no control at all.

Some people, discouraged by the conditions of life, commit suicide. They believe they are ending or destroying themselves. But this is not possible. Just as the energy of the world, which appears in the form of matter, cannot be erased, the energy that takes shape as a human being also cannot be erased. A person can choose to commit suicide, but he cannot bring about nonexistence. This fact symbolically shows the true position and limitations of human beings in this world.

A person can deny reality, but he cannot change it. He can rebel, but he cannot escape the results of rebellion. He can reject moral discipline, but he cannot remove the need for morality from the universe. He can do whatever he wants, but he cannot turn his own wishes into the final standard by which all human beings will ultimately be judged. A person is free in this world—but his freedom is limited, not unlimited.