Everything about the world God had made was good. There was plenty of food and drink for every living creature. In this lovely setting the first people lived.
God wanted them to be His friends and look after the earth and everything in it. God gave to them a precious gift – FREEWIL. He did not make them like robots or machines so that they would have to love Him and obey Him. It is impossible to make someone love another person. Love must come freely and naturally.
The gift of freewill was one of the main differences between humankind and the animals. It meant that men and women could choose between right and wrong, good and bad. They could choose to love each other or not. They could choose to God or not, to do what He wanted or what they wanted, to live for God or for themselves.
Sadly, they chose to disobey God. They prefer to please themselves rather than God.
Why did they do this? What went wrong?
All evil and wrong come from the devil. Even the very word ‘devil’ has the word ‘evil’ in it. While everyone today believes that evil exists, belief in a personal devil has declined. Isn’t he just a comic figure, he was once a glorious angel in heaven. His name was then Lucifer which means ‘one who bears light’. He became proud and jealous, wanting to be like God. He was banished from God’s presence and now does all he can to turn men and women against God.
It was the devil, or Satan (a name which means ‘the deceiver’) who tempted the first man and woman to choose wrong and disobey God.
So it was that sin and wrong entered into our world and so into human life.
It is the devil who has gone on tempting people away from God right from the very beginning.
Because people listen to the devil’s lies they go to his evil, selfish way. It is this that causes all the crimes and wrong and suffering in the world. This is why there is so much evil, so many broken relationships, so much selfishness and greed.
We are all by nature self-centered rather than God-centered. It is a disease we all have and it affects not just us, but everyone we come into contact with.
The Bible calls this ‘SIN”.
This is what is wrong with the world, and that means you and me.
While one third of the world’s population has more than enough to eat, millions go to bed hungry. If everything that God made was good, what has gone wrong?
God wanted them to be His friends and look after the earth and everything in it. God gave to them a precious gift – FREEWIL. He did not make them like robots or machines so that they would have to love Him and obey Him. It is impossible to make someone love another person. Love must come freely and naturally.
The gift of freewill was one of the main differences between humankind and the animals. It meant that men and women could choose between right and wrong, good and bad. They could choose to love each other or not. They could choose to God or not, to do what He wanted or what they wanted, to live for God or for themselves.
Sadly, they chose to disobey God. They prefer to please themselves rather than God.
Why did they do this? What went wrong?
All evil and wrong come from the devil. Even the very word ‘devil’ has the word ‘evil’ in it. While everyone today believes that evil exists, belief in a personal devil has declined. Isn’t he just a comic figure, he was once a glorious angel in heaven. His name was then Lucifer which means ‘one who bears light’. He became proud and jealous, wanting to be like God. He was banished from God’s presence and now does all he can to turn men and women against God.
It was the devil, or Satan (a name which means ‘the deceiver’) who tempted the first man and woman to choose wrong and disobey God.
So it was that sin and wrong entered into our world and so into human life.
It is the devil who has gone on tempting people away from God right from the very beginning.
Because people listen to the devil’s lies they go to his evil, selfish way. It is this that causes all the crimes and wrong and suffering in the world. This is why there is so much evil, so many broken relationships, so much selfishness and greed.
We are all by nature self-centered rather than God-centered. It is a disease we all have and it affects not just us, but everyone we come into contact with.
The Bible calls this ‘SIN”.
This is what is wrong with the world, and that means you and me.
While one third of the world’s population has more than enough to eat, millions go to bed hungry. If everything that God made was good, what has gone wrong?
