Violence as the Ultimate Distortion of Free Will: An Outward Expression of an Inward Fracture

Free will is one of the most astonishing gifts bestowed upon the human soul. It is the sacred capacity that allows us to choose love, truth, and alignment with God’s wisdom. It is the hinge upon which destiny turns, the quiet power through which human beings ascend to nobility, integrity, and spiritual maturity. Yet the same gift, when severed from humility and grace, can become the very force that leads us into fragmentation, despair, and self‑betrayal. Nowhere is this distortion more visible than in violence.

Violence is the ultimate misuse of free will — the moment when the soul turns against its own design. It is not merely an outward act; it is the external eruption of an inward fracture. Long before a hand strikes, a word wounds, or a system oppresses, something inside has already broken. Violence is the visible symptom of an invisible collapse.

To understand violence, we must first understand the sacredness of free will. Free will is not simply the ability to choose between options; it is the capacity to align our choices with the divine image within us. It is the power to participate in God’s unfolding work, to shape our lives in harmony with truth, compassion, and justice. Scripture affirms that human beings are created in the image and likeness of God — endowed with reason, conscience, and the ability to choose the good. This is why free will is so precious: it is the means through which we become co‑creators with God.

But free will is also perilous. It is a gift that requires maturity, humility, and spiritual grounding. Without these, free will becomes vulnerable to distortion. The ego, with its illusions of control and its hunger for validation, can hijack the gift of freedom and turn it into a weapon. When ego takes the throne, free will becomes a tool of self‑protection rather than self‑transcendence. It becomes a means of domination rather than communion. It becomes the soil in which violence grows.

Violence is never born from strength. It is born from fragmentation. It arises when the inner world is wounded, disordered, or disconnected from its Source. A person who is whole, grounded, and aligned with love does not harm another. Violence emerges when fear overwhelms wisdom, when pride eclipses humility, when unhealed wounds distort perception. It is the soul acting out of its brokenness.

This is why violence is always tragic: it is the moment when a human being uses the sacred gift of free will to diminish the divine image — in themselves and in another. It is the collapse of reverence. It is the forgetting of who we are.

The Inward Fracture

To understand violence, we must look beneath the surface. Violence begins long before the outward act. It begins in the unseen places — in the heart that has forgotten its worth, in the mind clouded by fear or pride, in the ego desperate to protect its illusions, in the wounds that have never been tended. Long before violence erupts externally, it has already taken root internally.

Psychology affirms this truth: violence is often the expression of unresolved trauma, unmet needs, or internalized shame. When a person feels powerless, they may seek control. When they feel unseen, they may demand recognition. When they feel threatened, they may strike. Violence is the language of a soul that has lost its way.

Spiritual traditions echo this understanding. The mystics teach that all outward actions flow from the state of the heart. A heart filled with love produces compassion. A heart filled with fear produces aggression. A heart filled with pride produces domination. Violence is the fruit of an inner landscape that has become barren of grace.

This inward fracture is not always obvious. It may be hidden beneath confidence, masked by charisma, or justified by ideology. But beneath every act of violence lies a soul that has become disconnected from its own sacredness. Violence is the externalization of an internal war.

The Misuse of Sacred Power

Free will is sacred because it mirrors God’s freedom. It is the capacity to choose love, to choose compassion, to choose the good even when it is difficult. But when free will is severed from humility, it becomes dangerous. When it is severed from love, it becomes destructive. When it is severed from truth, it becomes blind.

Violence is free will stripped of reverence. It is choice without conscience, action without awareness, power without wisdom. It is the soul using its freedom against itself.

This is why violence is fundamentally a spiritual crisis. It is not merely a behavioral issue or a social problem; it is a rupture in the relationship between the soul and its Source. When a person forgets that they are created in the image of God, they forget that others are as well. When they forget their own sacredness, they lose the capacity to honor the sacredness of another.

Violence is the soul’s amnesia.

The Illusion of Control

At the heart of violence lies the illusion of control. The ego believes that control is safety, that domination is strength, that force is power. But true power is never violent. True power is rooted in love, humility, and alignment with God. Violence is the counterfeit of power — a desperate attempt to assert control when the inner world feels chaotic.

This is why violence often arises from fear. Fear of vulnerability. Fear of loss. Fear of insignificance. Fear of being seen. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being powerless. Violence is the ego’s attempt to protect itself from these fears. But in doing so, it betrays the soul.

The mystics teach that fear is the absence of trust. When trust in God diminishes, fear grows. When fear grows, ego takes over. When ego takes over, violence becomes possible. Violence is the ego’s attempt to do what only grace can accomplish: create safety, meaning, and identity.

The Spiritual Consequences of Violence

Violence harms not only the victim but the perpetrator. It deepens the fracture within the one who commits it. It reinforces the illusion of separation. It distances the soul from its own light. Violence is the soul acting against itself.

This is why violence is always a tragedy, even when it is justified by ideology, fear, or self‑protection. It is the moment when a human being uses the gift of freedom to diminish the divine image. It is the moment when the soul forgets its own dignity.

Scripture teaches that those who live by the sword perish by the sword — not only physically but spiritually. Violence corrodes the soul. It hardens the heart. It distorts perception. It creates a cycle of fear, shame, and further violence. The soul becomes trapped in its own distortion.

The Call to Healing

If violence is the outward expression of an inward fracture, then the remedy is not punishment alone but restoration. The fracture must be healed. The wounds must be acknowledged. The ego must be surrendered. The heart must be brought back into alignment with its Source.

Healing begins with humility. Humility is the recognition that without God’s grace, we lose our way. It is the awareness that our wisdom is partial, our strength limited, our vision incomplete. This awareness does not shame us; it grounds us. It keeps us teachable. It keeps us open. It keeps us dependent on God rather than on our own illusions of control.

Humility is the antidote to violence because humility dissolves ego. Ego cannot coexist with humility. Ego demands control; humility surrenders. Ego seeks domination; humility seeks communion. Ego fears vulnerability; humility embraces it. Ego isolates; humility connects. Ego wounds; humility heals.

When humility enters the heart, violence loses its power. The soul remembers its sacredness. The person becomes capable of seeing the divine image in themselves and in others. Free will becomes aligned with grace once again.

The Redemption of Free Will

Free will is not inherently good or inherently destructive; it becomes what we choose to make of it. When guided by ego, it becomes a force of harm. When guided by humility, it becomes a force of healing. When guided by fear, it becomes a weapon. When guided by love, it becomes a blessing.

The redemption of free will begins when a person recognizes the truth:

“I have misused my freedom. I have acted from fear, not love. I have forgotten who I am.”

This recognition is not meant to shame but to awaken. It is the first step toward reclaiming the sacred purpose of free will — to choose life, to choose compassion, to choose the path that leads us back to God.

Violence is the distortion of free will.

Healing is its redemption.

And humility is the doorway through which that redemption begins.

References

1. Augustine, Confessions
2. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
3. Teresa of Ávila, Interior Castle
4. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul
5. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
6. The Holy Bible (Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, Gospels)
7. Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation
8. Nouwen, Henri. The Inner Voice of Love
9. Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self
10. Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood
11. Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers
12. Richard Rohr, Falling Upward
13. Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

James Finley, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere