A: This is a great question, and
it makes sense to think that, since
God
is so loving towards all of his children, we can
be forgiven just about
anything. And it just might be true, that the
Father will ultimately
forgive even the person who knows enough about him
to know his
forgiving nature but decides instead to live a
life of self-interest,
knowing -
believing - that all will be forgiven in the end.
The very nature of
the question begs one to think about what knowing
God means, and what
the fruits of a relationship with God look like.
So, why would anyone want to live a life of doing
whatever they want to
do, living it up...? Just because they can? When
someone asks that
question, to me it implies that they might think
that doing the wrong
thing will bring some kind of special happiness,
and that being "good"
is boring and not much fun. And then this makes me
think of the
Father's will, and how much joy it brings, when we
sincerely seek to
find it and to do it - how much joy results from
having a close
relationship with God-within. So many people think
that God's will has
to be contrary to our human will - that it is
somehow not going to be
any fun...and that speaks to the sad fact that
many people fear God and
fear his will.
The whole point of living a good life is that it
is what makes us happy
in the end. Doing "whatever we want to do" is not
a recipe for
happiness. and don't we all want to be happy?
"Intellectual
self-consciousness can discover the beauty of
truth, its
spiritual quality, not only by the philosophic
consistency of its
concepts, but more certainly and surely by the
unerring response of the
ever-present Spirit of Truth. Happiness ensues
from the recognition of
truth because it can be acted out; it can be
lived. Disappointment and
sorrow attend upon error because, not being a
reality, it cannot be
realized in experience. Divine truth is best known
by its spiritual
flavor." (2:7.6)
But I guess there are those who have not had the
experience of acting
out truth, or really knowing God - the ultimate
Truth. Maybe
there are those who feel that being "bad" and
"living it up" (whatever
that means...) will bring them some kind of
happiness that they feel is
missing from their lives. And for them, I am sure
that when they stand
on the other side they might say "Lord, Lord," and
God will draw them
into the fold because that is his nature. But to
consciously say -
well, I can do whatever I want and I know God will
forgive me - that is
an attitude that seems callous and self-serving to
me. Also, not very
conducive to growing a good soul - a person who
thinks this way might
end up pretty misshapen when they do get to the
Mansion Worlds, where
one's true self emerges for all to see.
I guess when it comes to God, there really is no
limit to his love and
forgiveness, but there is that little thing called
"justice - otherwise
known as consequences. Like it says above:
"Disappointment
and sorrow attend upon error because, not being a
reality, it cannot be
realized in experience. Divine truth is best known
by its spiritual
flavor." This is a truth that has to be
experienced, and once a person
understands this from experience, it is a sure
inspiration to do better
and be
better. To do otherwise sounds a little like
cosmic insanity to me...
There are a couple of things in "Life's Toughest
Question" that speak
to
this in some different ways:
Why
do the wicked prosper?
Why
am I Living"
I hope this reply is of some help to you
