The Art of Not Playing God

It’s a curious fact of life that those who are prone to tell others ‘not to play god’ have no problem with assuming the role of divine dictator whenever it suits them.

Perhaps they alone know the secret rationale of when godly powers may be taken up by mere mortals, and when it is forbidden. And the few blessed with eventual access to the promised land, will one day understand how seemingly absurd and arbitrary injunctions can somehow turn out to make perfect sense. Until then, who are we to question the genius behind instructions such as these:

Do not play god and withhold medical intervention to let someone exit a life of unendurable pain; but do play god and refuse to pay for a life-saving drug because, frankly, it is too expensive.

Do not play god and punish those who swindle others to enrich themselves, especially when they repent on television; but do play god and penalise those who are in love with someone of the same sex.

Do not play god and terminate a fertilised human egg even if the mother’s life would otherwise be at risk; but do play god and execute anyone a group of fallible mortals have judged to have taken someone else’s life.

Do not play god and make the rich take more responsibility for the plight of others; but do play god and tell the poor that unless they can get a job, they are to starve.

Do not play god and meddle with genetics and create new forms of organic life with no intelligence; but do play god and embark on endless advancement in the development of robots and artificial intelligence.

Do not play god and send aid to countries where the people have not sorted out their own problems; but do play god and bomb other countries if they do not sort out their problems.

It’s possible that we have not quite got the instructions stated correctly. After all, we have not been properly initiated into the art of not playing god. Maybe we should wait until we are chosen to be inducted. But when we hear voices in our heads, how do we know if that is the supreme benevolent being speaking to us, or some evil trickster or an inner delusion? Besides, would not any attempt to declare that one can absolutely tell the difference be bordering on playing god?