Reason #970
Thirty more days. One more month, and I will have made it. It has gone by faster than I thought it would, but isn't that life? Time is ticking, and although we still have 24 hours in a day, they seem shorter. Maybe it's because we're busy. Maybe it's because we don't know how to slow down and unplug. I don't know what it is, but time is flying by at an incredible speed, and sometimes I feel like I can hardly keep up.
A friend of mine once told me, "If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy." Sometimes it's easy for him to accomplish both it seems. But the key word in this sentence is make. Maybe as a child you found yourself feeling forced into a decision and you'd say something like, "You can't make me do that." And you might have been right. Because the truth is no one can make you do anything. They can certainly try to force or tempt you into acting a certain way, but you're the one who decides what you'll do. This is even true with authority. No one can make you follow the rules, no one can make you behave, and no one can make you show respect. You can refuse, and you may very well be punished for it, but it was your choice. No one can ever force you into doing anything you don't want to, but there may certainly be repercussions and consequences for the decision you make.
Poor Eve gets the blame for bringing sin into the world. Honestly, had the serpent approached Adam first, he probably would have just as eagerly bitten into that forbidden fruit. But as it was, Eve was the target of his deceitful scheme and it worked. See, he didn't make Eve eat the fruit. He didn't force her down, stand on top of her, and push it into her mouth. He didn't even threaten her if she chose not to eat it. He simply told her about it. He informed her that if she ate the fruit she'd know both good and evil. Unfortunately, for Eve, she had no idea what this "evil" was. It wasn't a word she was familiar with. Eve only knew good, and God had not fully explained to her that there was anything other than good. Of course, there was no need for Him to tell her because at that time good was it. Evil had never entered into the world, so even if God had tried to explain it to her, she wouldn't have understood. Her mind could not have grasped a concept that didn't exist. All Eve knew was that God had instructed them not to eat the fruit of that one tree or they would die. She didn't question what God told them, and she probably hadn't even thought about it until the serpent showed up and mentioned it to her. At that point, eating the fruit just wasn't an option and Eve had accepted that. But the serpent gave her an idea, a suggestion, really. He told her that it actually was an option. She had the ability to eat from that tree if she wanted to. No one was going to stop her either way. And once she learned that she had choices, she made the wrong one.
Adam was quick to follow with the next bite, and in an instant things changed. Adam and Eve were fully responsible for what they had done. This was 100% their choice. Just as easily as they said yes, they could have said no. The could have stuck to the guidelines God had laid out for them and been obedient to His commands. But the serpent gave them an idea, the promise of experiencing something they knew nothing of, and it did not work out in their favor. They quickly learned what 'evil' was, and don't you know they regretted that decision every day they spent outside of the garden. They had no one to blame but themselves. God told them not to eat from the tree, and they disobeyed. They were about to be opened a realm of things they never knew existed and, I'm sure they would have made a different decision had they known then what they knew now.
God doesn't ask us to be perfect, but He does ask us to be obedient. And the thing is, God is never going to make you be obedient just like the devil is never going to make you be disobedient. The problem here is that the devil is quick to offer us information and details that seem intriguing. He is going to give us suggestions and ideas that are completely contrary to God's word, but they might sound like they're not that big of a deal. I mean eating a piece of fruit, how harmless, right? Sounds like it can't cause that much damage, and hey, how would you have known that anyway? You'd never done that before and so there was no way you were to know it could have ended so badly. But God knew, and that's why He said, "don't." Not because He's a party pooper who wants to deprive us of all fun and exhilarating experience, but because He loves you and He knows full well that you're going to end up getting yourself into a bind if you do it. He knows that these things cause addiction. He knows that those choices break up families and marriages. He knows that those decisions bring about disease and heartbreak. He know that all tempting roads lead to death, pain, and destruction, and He is trying to save you from that. From making a grave mistake, from living a life full of regret, and for hurting a lot of people along the way. His "don't" is for your good. His "don't" is for your protection. His "don't" is for your benefit.
God doesn't have to explain anything to us. He doesn't have to tell us why we shouldn't do this or that. He doesn't have to tell us the consequences so we can weigh them against the decision, and He doesn't have to inform us of the repercussions of our sins. He knows all because He is over all. He has been around since the beginning of time, so He has seen it all. His word is good enough, and He only asks that we obey it. It's not about what we want, it's about what's best for us, and that's what God wants. So take Him at His word. If He says "don't," then don't. God will never mislead you. He will never trick you or steer you down a path of destruction. He came so that you may have abundant and eternal life, which is the best option of all.
#970 - Because His "don't" is for our good.
"But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands." - Exodus 20:6
A friend of mine once told me, "If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy." Sometimes it's easy for him to accomplish both it seems. But the key word in this sentence is make. Maybe as a child you found yourself feeling forced into a decision and you'd say something like, "You can't make me do that." And you might have been right. Because the truth is no one can make you do anything. They can certainly try to force or tempt you into acting a certain way, but you're the one who decides what you'll do. This is even true with authority. No one can make you follow the rules, no one can make you behave, and no one can make you show respect. You can refuse, and you may very well be punished for it, but it was your choice. No one can ever force you into doing anything you don't want to, but there may certainly be repercussions and consequences for the decision you make.
Poor Eve gets the blame for bringing sin into the world. Honestly, had the serpent approached Adam first, he probably would have just as eagerly bitten into that forbidden fruit. But as it was, Eve was the target of his deceitful scheme and it worked. See, he didn't make Eve eat the fruit. He didn't force her down, stand on top of her, and push it into her mouth. He didn't even threaten her if she chose not to eat it. He simply told her about it. He informed her that if she ate the fruit she'd know both good and evil. Unfortunately, for Eve, she had no idea what this "evil" was. It wasn't a word she was familiar with. Eve only knew good, and God had not fully explained to her that there was anything other than good. Of course, there was no need for Him to tell her because at that time good was it. Evil had never entered into the world, so even if God had tried to explain it to her, she wouldn't have understood. Her mind could not have grasped a concept that didn't exist. All Eve knew was that God had instructed them not to eat the fruit of that one tree or they would die. She didn't question what God told them, and she probably hadn't even thought about it until the serpent showed up and mentioned it to her. At that point, eating the fruit just wasn't an option and Eve had accepted that. But the serpent gave her an idea, a suggestion, really. He told her that it actually was an option. She had the ability to eat from that tree if she wanted to. No one was going to stop her either way. And once she learned that she had choices, she made the wrong one.
Adam was quick to follow with the next bite, and in an instant things changed. Adam and Eve were fully responsible for what they had done. This was 100% their choice. Just as easily as they said yes, they could have said no. The could have stuck to the guidelines God had laid out for them and been obedient to His commands. But the serpent gave them an idea, the promise of experiencing something they knew nothing of, and it did not work out in their favor. They quickly learned what 'evil' was, and don't you know they regretted that decision every day they spent outside of the garden. They had no one to blame but themselves. God told them not to eat from the tree, and they disobeyed. They were about to be opened a realm of things they never knew existed and, I'm sure they would have made a different decision had they known then what they knew now.
God doesn't ask us to be perfect, but He does ask us to be obedient. And the thing is, God is never going to make you be obedient just like the devil is never going to make you be disobedient. The problem here is that the devil is quick to offer us information and details that seem intriguing. He is going to give us suggestions and ideas that are completely contrary to God's word, but they might sound like they're not that big of a deal. I mean eating a piece of fruit, how harmless, right? Sounds like it can't cause that much damage, and hey, how would you have known that anyway? You'd never done that before and so there was no way you were to know it could have ended so badly. But God knew, and that's why He said, "don't." Not because He's a party pooper who wants to deprive us of all fun and exhilarating experience, but because He loves you and He knows full well that you're going to end up getting yourself into a bind if you do it. He knows that these things cause addiction. He knows that those choices break up families and marriages. He knows that those decisions bring about disease and heartbreak. He know that all tempting roads lead to death, pain, and destruction, and He is trying to save you from that. From making a grave mistake, from living a life full of regret, and for hurting a lot of people along the way. His "don't" is for your good. His "don't" is for your protection. His "don't" is for your benefit.
God doesn't have to explain anything to us. He doesn't have to tell us why we shouldn't do this or that. He doesn't have to tell us the consequences so we can weigh them against the decision, and He doesn't have to inform us of the repercussions of our sins. He knows all because He is over all. He has been around since the beginning of time, so He has seen it all. His word is good enough, and He only asks that we obey it. It's not about what we want, it's about what's best for us, and that's what God wants. So take Him at His word. If He says "don't," then don't. God will never mislead you. He will never trick you or steer you down a path of destruction. He came so that you may have abundant and eternal life, which is the best option of all.
#970 - Because His "don't" is for our good.
"But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands." - Exodus 20:6