From the beginning of time, human beings have variously been defined as different kinds of animals—as a “rational” animal, for example, or a “problem-solving” animal; as a “self-conscious” animal, or an animal that uses advanced “language” and “tools.” But perhaps the most satisfactory definition I have ever come across is the one that calls human beings the “unfinished” animal.

Amidst the animal kingdom, we alone seem to have been assigned the wondrous—and rather daunting—task of completing ourselves. Every other species (at least as far as I can tell) doesn’t have to worry about putting on its own finishing touches. The tiger, the rabbit, the dog, the horse, the eagle, the earthworm are already complete, and no further possibilities, either for good or ill, await them.

We, on the other hand, seem to have been conferred the astonishing freedom of shaping ourselves in whatever ways we want. We can elevate ourselves or degrade ourselves. Indeed, we can totally destroy ourselves, if we so choose. Unlike other animals, which are primarily governed by instincts, there are an infinite number of directions that our lives can take—and we’re the ones who get to chart the course!

So the question becomes, “How do we, as a species, wish to complete ourselves?” For the first time in history, we now have the technology, the energy, the knowledge and resources, to unify the human race, to feed everyone, to protect all from want, and to lift the living level of the have-nots without drastically lowering the level of the haves.

And yet, while we have made incredible advances on the intellectual and technological fronts, precisely the opposite seems to have occurred on the social and emotional fronts. We are more divisive, more hostile, more suspicious, more anxious, and frankly, more irrational than at any other time in recent history.

The choice is ours—we can either finish ourselves … or finish ourselves off! It is an intimidating responsibility, to be sure. But among all the other creatures who inhabit this planet, we alone are the ones who have been given it.

Of course, the theologian in me would like to point out that we will never really be able to complete ourselves unless we start looking to the One who created us in the first place. Human beings are “unfinished” animals—that’s true. We have been given the choice of how to finish ourselves—that’s true, too. But keep in mind that, among those choices, is the choice to follow God, who is both our Creator and our Completer!