Saturday, December 28, 2013

"The Problem is Choice"

Genesis 2:16-17
 
16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
 
We know that Adam was the first human son of God however he was not born of woman and the Holy Spirit as Jesus. Jesus was begotten because he was produced as an effect or outgrowth and was fathered by the Holy Spirit.  Adam was created from dust and dirt which is what we shed each day.
 
Adam was given a directive by God in the Garden of Eden to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But as Neo said to the Source in the film, The Matrix, "The problem is choice."  The problem was choice but so was the solution. The problem here wasn't that the serpent approached Eve as many would like to believe. The problem was choice. How so? God gave specific instructions for Adam and Eve not to touch that particular tree. Yes, the serpent provided conflicting information than what Adam and Eve had received. However, the problem was they allowed doubt to creep in and they chose to ignore the directive given by God though He already presented them with the consequence of making the wrong choice. The serpent, who is the enemy of our souls, doesn't stop there, he makes the obviously wrong choice look appealing. But the fact remains, as the NKJ Study Bible states, "Both the man and woman sinned through listening to another created being rather than to God." What is choice? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines it as 1)the act of choosing: selection 2) the power or opportunity of choosing: option 3) the best part 4) a person or thing selected 5) a variety offered for selection. We are the only living creatures God gave the ability to think and reason. We are the only ones to whom God gave the power of choice. For every choice there are rewards or consequences. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines rewards as 1)something given in return for good or evil done or received for some service or attainment 2) a stimulus that is administered to an organism after a response and that increases the probability of occurrence of the response. Our society refers to rewards as something good. So a reward for doing something right. But a consequence is often seen as something bad. Consequence as defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary is a 1) result 2)importance, effect, outcome or aftermath.
 
The question for you, "Have you been listening to God or to a created being?" Yes, God can speak through others but God speaks to you directly just as much but do you pay attention? Has God spoken to you directly on what to do or not to do? Did you make a choice to not listen to Him? Did you make a choice regardless of the consequences presented to you? Did you think you would be rewarded positively for your choice? Have you suffered negative consequences from your choices? What have you learned as a result? Or do you still not see the problem? Sometimes options are nothing more than diversions from God's truth? Sometimes the question of "did God really say that," is nothing more than the enemy creating doubt in your mind so you will be conflicted enough that you will cheat yourself out of your rewards and blessings just as Satan did. His main objective is to cheat you out of your inheritance as he lost his. Lucifer was once an angel of the Lord. He was the chief angel. He lost his inheritance to be in the kingdom of God and all God's glorious riches all because he wanted to show he was equal to or better than God. So if Satan can assist in opening the door so you will cheat yourself out of your inheritance the way he lost his, then he will have gained what he desired which is misery loves company or the crab in the barrel mentality. As you end the year, think about the choices you have made. Did  you listen to God or did you make the choice to be influenced by someone else? How's that working for you? Jesus is giving you another opportunity to move in the correct direction if you haven't previously because of His shed blood. Is it time for you to reconsider how you make choices?  The solution is also your choice.