One of the foundations of faith is that God, the Creator of the universe and the One responsible for its continued existence, granted every human being free will. He decided that if people choose good, they bring life and blessing to themselves and the world; if they choose evil, they bring trouble and death. This is as it should be. For those who draw close to God by walking in the ways of truth and goodness are drawing closer to the source of life and blessing, thus meriting additional life and blessing. Those who distance themselves from God are distancing themselves from the source of life, so their lives are shortened by disease and suffering and tragedy overtakes them. Nevertheless, God wishes to benefit His creations, so that suffering and tragedy serve a purpose: to inspire people to repent and improve, to abandon sin and merit goodness. As it says, “Bear in mind that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son” (Deuteronomy 8:5).
Free will is a manifestation of people being created in the image of God with the awareness which enables them to choose between good and evil. Their choices affect not only themselves, but the entire world. They are able to choose to partner with God in order to settle and develop the world. As it says, “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to work it and tend it” (Genesis 2:15). “To work it” means to advance the world and improve it. “To tend it” means to protect it from harm. On the other hand, we are free to choose evil and destroy ourselves as experienced by the generation of the flood, whose sins against humanity caused God to wipe out all human and living creatures from the face of the earth.
