God Wills Free Will

I have many questions in life, mostly about how life works and how people make it work. 

I don't really bother over common questions like;

Why would God allow this?

Why is there suffering? 

Why is there so much evil if God is good?

To me these questions are too petty to think on - the answer to all of them is this: God doesn't allow sin, but we choose it. Suffering is a result of our sin. Consequences. Naturally what we will choose will affect us and others, just as what others choose will affect us and many more people.

My question is this: why do people choose evil??? Why do we hate? Why are we selfish? 

And why do so many of us choose what is not right somehow managing to convince ourselves that this must be right??

How can two people appear to be following God yet make drastically opposite decisions each "according to the will of God and what He has told them to do" but it somehow hurts one or the other?

These are the questions I ask.

Why do people hate me? Treat me wrong - when they obviously have the potential for greatness? Why do they (or I) choose stupidity over love?

Even as I do it... I wonder why??

And then I wonder... How can God allow this stupidity? This pain? This awful way of living?

It's kinda crazy, but this question bothered me for a long time. Bitterness against those that were treating me in what I considered a wrong way turned me into not wanting to be around people at all. I didn't understand God at all - and it seemed the more I tried to understand the more confused I became. 

I was finding that others' hate was causing me to hate even more... and I knew it. And it scared me. 

But I was stuck - how could people be so evil? How could God be in their lives and they act in such a way? How can people claim to know the love of God and not even show it?

And then I realized several things. 

"We tend to judge others by their behavior, and ourselves by our intentions." ~ Albert F. Schlieder

1. Was I any different? Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 13

2. I was very willing to judge others for their actions, and myself for only my intentions. 1 John 4:20, Galatians 6:3

3. God made us free - to choose what we will. 1 Peter 2:16

4. And making making mistakes is what we all do - myself included. 

5. When people wrong us I must keep loving. Bitterness is not what a child of God gives in to. Galatians 5:13, Luke 6:46

6. Sure, God wants love. Book of First John  Perfection. Matthew 5:48 Righteousness. But He also wills free will. John 7:17  And while that's a huge thing on His part - it's who God is. God is good - thus He doesn't' force us to be good.

And so many of us won't choose all of Him completely. So many good people will fail. So many of us will choose hate over love.

The world will continue seeing stupidity.

But the pain isn't God's will - He wishes for us to choose Him over hate and bitterness and uncertainty. 

God wants our love. From us, not from force.

It's kinda a scary thing. It's a painful process. So many more people will be hypocritical idiots. I will forever have to choose to press closer to God and forgive and not vent in bitterness.

It's so hard.  It's tiring - especially as I see more and more of the state of selfishness we humans love to embrace. 

Only this helps: Choosing God gives strength, despite others' hate.

So, I still wonder, why do we hate? 

But I understand now it's not because God ignores us. He really does love each of us. And I'm sure He hates the stupidity even more than I do... way more. More than, it must sadden God.  this is all His creation.  

But we aren't meant to continue giving in this ugly pain. No matter the person that gives the hate, we are called to love. 

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Galatians 5:13