Death. I hated to put that word in the title of this post. Most of us are pretty good at not thinking about Death. We know it’s coming. We’d just rather not think about it.

In this post, I hope to give you one very good reason to keep Death in mind.

Man, as a living creature, has an earthly, physical existence. Every person is born, lives, and dies, like all other living creatures. But there are two things different about Man.

We have already discussed the main, and more important, difference…

What truly differentiates Man from Animal is that Man is capable of consciously making a decision to refrain from taking. Man is capable of consciously choosing voluntary interaction, in cooperation with others, to satisfy needs.

Man can choose to Trade, not Take.

Man can choose to live by the rule “Thou shalt Not Steal”.

Not everyone makes that choice. But, to actually make that choice, and live that choice, is what it takes to be fully, truly Human.

And to be truly Human is what it takes to attain an immortal soul.

The second unique thing about Man is that we have a conscious awareness of ourselves and of our mortality. We are aware that we are alive, and aware that we will die.

Awareness of our ever-looming mortality can provide powerful incentive to behave in ways that lead to the attainment of an immortal soul.

We cannot avoid physical death, but there is a simple, yet challenging path to immortality. TSNS.

“Thou Shalt Not Steal” (TSNS)

TSNS is a simple concept. Why would following it be such a challenging path to heavenly immortality?

TSNS, if fully embraced, covers much more than stealing someone else’s possessions:

• Thou Shalt Not Steal Life (Murder)
• Thou Shalt Not Steal Freedom (Slavery)
• Thou Shalt Not Steal Property (Theft)

No Man can avoid physical death, but to become truly Human and to attain an immortal soul, a Man may simply choose to Trade, not Take; to live by one simple commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Steal”.

Animals think. Man, though an animal, is conscious of his thinking.

By that I mean that Man is aware of himself, and can think about his thoughts. Man can consider two courses of action and consciously choose between them.

This is what allows Man, the animal, to become something unique in the world – Man, the Human.

As we discussed in the post “Veresapiens – Truly Wise, Truly Human”

All living things need space to live, and things to consume, in competition with others. Aside from Man, living things simply take what they need.

What truly differentiates Man from Animal is that Man is capable of consciously making a decision to refrain from taking. Man is capable of consciously choosing voluntary interaction, in cooperation with others, to satisfy needs.

Man can choose to Trade, not Take.

Man can choose to live by the rule “Thou shalt Not Steal”.

Not everyone makes that choice. But, to actually make that choice, and live that choice, is what it takes to be fully, truly Human.

The importance of that choice – to live that choice – was illustrated in “To Become At One With God”

And to be fully, truly Human is what it takes to attain an immortal soul and to become at one with God.

This is the same lesson found in the Christian Bible in the Galatians verses that teach “A man reaps what he sows”. In Galatians 6:8 it says

“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

In other words, to live as Man, the animal, and Take what you need, leads to death and decay. But to live as Man, the Human, and to choose instead to Trade voluntarily for what you need, leads to eternal life.

The Human Soul is immortal, but a Man must become Human to attain a Human Soul.

In the beginning, God loved Earth and breathed Life into her. And Life and Earth became one – EarthLife. As goes Earth, goes Life. And as goes Life, goes Earth. Each leads and follows the other. EarthLife.

If Life were uniform, it would, in time, use up all the nutrients Earth has to offer. Life must, therefore, be diverse, consuming a variety of resources.

But beyond that, for Life to be continuous, resources must ultimately be reused and recycled. Thus the cycle of Life – plants, grazers, predators, microbes, and back to plants. Prey and predator are equally critical to Life.

A planet changes over time, from its fiery molten beginning to some final fate tied to the life and death of its star. Life cannot be designed to perfectly fit all of the conditions yet to come on its planet, so Life is designed by God to evolve as needed to react to ever-changing conditions, and to thrive in each new stage of a planet’s lifetime.

There is one Life on Earth. EarthLife. It is a continuously optimizing community of living things. Each operating independently, but each also operating within, and affecting, the community. None are good or bad, higher or lower. All are equal members of the same community. Predator and prey are partners in Life. That’s how Life lives on.

Man evolved from and within the EarthLife community. As a living being, Man does not live above or apart from EarthLife. However, there is one thing that sets Man apart.

Man alone has evolved the ability to become spiritual, and to become at one with God.

However, individuals can attain an immortal soul only by exercising Man’s one unique capability. The one thing that sets Man apart from all other animals.

What truly differentiates Man from Animal is that Man is capable of consciously making a decision to refrain from taking. Man is capable of consciously choosing voluntary interaction, in cooperation with others, to satisfy needs.

Man can choose to Trade, not Take.

Man can choose to live by the rule “Thou shalt Not Steal”.

Not everyone makes that choice. But, to actually make that choice, and live that choice, is what it takes to be fully, truly Human.

And to be fully, truly Human is what it takes to attain an immortal soul and to become at one with God.