"Believe it or not, I never do anything with the sole intention of pissing
off the Seraphim Council. Their shock and anger sometimes makes me grin...
but more often, I just sigh inside and wonder why they choose not to
understand.
"Listen to it... you can hear the Symphony playing its strands on zephyrs
floating through the air... a neverending, always changing melody. A new
note sounds with the birth of each being; a new chord with each destiny
fulfilled; a rest upon each fate sealed. Humans slip in and out of
existence. Angels and demons learn to adapt to this fluid world. And God
smiles down upon this, for God did decree that the world would be what you
made of it.
"Everyone has the right to choose their own path in life. The problem is
that most people aren't aware of the choices that they have. Does Mr. J.
Random Businessman realize that he could quit his job and work with
disabled veterans, without becoming homeless himself, by learning how to
let go of his possessions? Does he understand the sense of fulfillment
that this would finally bring him? No, until he is shown this, he does
not know. Did humanity realize that they had a choice in how to worship
until the Reformation? Some did, most did not.
"Do I sound like I should go on to praise Lucifer? Praise him for showing
the Host another choice that we may not have been aware of? Perhaps a part
of me must acknowledge that he did show us another path... but only in
the way I must acknowledge the first human to realize he could voluntarily
place his arm into a meat grinder! Lies, deception, and false promises led
one-third of God's faithful into a Fate worse than death itself - a
perversion of all we stand for and an insult in the eyes of the Symphony.
It is a choice, but a choice that only a fool would make; unfortunately,
Lucifer has a way of making fools out of those around him.
"We must all be free to make our own choices, with a clear and open mind,
as God intended. Notice my words. One's mind must be clear: free of
irrational doubts, free of overwhelming fear and worry, and free of
demonic taint. One's mind must be open: Until you understand what lies
upon the paths before you, you cannot freely choose your own path.
"Many cling to their current situation out of simple inertia or fear. The
future is a frightening unknown to them, and they erroneously believe that
they're much safer where they are than they could be anywhere else, simply
because they're not yet dead or close to it. Even people in horrible
situations, barely living what could be called a life, are afraid to step
away from it and begin anew.
"I have seen a man with five ulcers, who wakes every morning in abject
horror, realizing that he must head to work today. Cursing his existence
on his way there, he toils at a job which he hates - hates as a slave
hates its master. When he returns home, to a loveless marriage of
convenience, the last thing he does before sleep is wish for an end to it.
And this man still will not change his life on his own.
"I have seen a woman, beaten by her husband every day. Every day.
Sometimes just a slap, sometimes a full assault. Forced to leave her
school and her job for him, she longs for both with a passion so intense,
an Elohite would have to leave the room. She thinks she loves him, but
even she realizes it's really dependence. And yet, this woman still will
not change her life on her own.
"Sometimes it just takes a little push. Sometimes it takes the full power
of the winds of change. But it's always, always worth it. My Servitors and
I may sometimes force them onto the start of a path, but we never force
them down it. Some gather their courage and walk down the new path, to
face a new life. Others run from the path and go back to their old lives.
Some find a third path, a healthy one that we missed, which brings me more
joy than you could imagine; it means they finally understand. Some of my
most unlikely Soldiers have come about that way.
"As I speak to you, the woman is in another state - a waitress, in her
fourth semester of community college, working towards her nursing degree.
The man was given a chance to open the flower shop he's always secretly
longed for... instead, he's sprouting ulcer number six. You win some, you
lose some, and you never give up trying.
"And no, I am not Valefor."
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