“I, Robot”
In the 1940’s science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov wrote a collection of short stories entitled “I, Robot.” A few decades later I was required to read this classic sci-fi collection. A few decades after that, I was pleased to hear that a movie was being made with the same name. Sadly, the same name is about the only way the movie reflects the original book. This is not intended to be a review or comparison of the book and the movie, rather, I want to ponder an idea that the movie promoted. In the “I, Robot” movie, the main character is a robot named Sonny. Sonny was created to head off a robot rebellion. When the movie comes to an end, Sonny has been successful in preventing this rebellion. He fulfilled his designed program. As the movie is about to end, Sonny speaks with another major character in the movie, a human named Detective Spooner. Sonny says, “Now that I have fulfilled my purpose, I do not know what to do.” In response to Sonny’s statement, Detective Spooner replies, “I guess you’ll have to find your way like the rest of us. That is what it means to be free.”
The movie scriptwriter has perfectly defined the modern understanding of freedom in the dialogue between Sonny and Detective Spooner. The movie scriptwriter and today’s culture both believe that we find freedom in doing whatever we desire, in doing whatever makes us feel good. If there is a directive that comes from our Maker, our Creator, our God, then current culture wants to imply that obeying God’s directives turns us into robots. Today’s world believes that there cannot be freedom and fulfillment when we have rules and constraints.
Where does this “it’s all about me” thinking come from? While we live in a “no rules” world, this philosophy is actually very old. Satan has been deceiving mankind by promoting the idea that the meaning of life is open for each person to discover. It would be wise for all to consider what they are basing this discovery upon. For example, when God told Adam and Eve not to eat from a particular tree, Satan encouraged Eve to discover her own way. Satan disputed God’s warning. When God said that disobedience would bring death, Satan sneered at the statement. Satan told Adam and Eve they would find life and be like God when they followed their own path. What Adam and Eve actually discovered was that freedom was not found in disobedience. Real freedom, satisfaction, and fulfillment come from doing what we were created to do.
We all know that with effort we can use the wrong tool and still complete a job. We might use a screwdriver as a pry bar or a chisel. However, using the screwdriver the wrong way most often leads to its ruin. The result is a tool that gets destroyed. The same is true in our approach to life. Who made us? What were we made for? What is the meaning of life? Join me next week as we continue this thought. Keep looking up!