Freedom to Choose...

¹⁵And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 2:15-17

Loving parents long to protect their children from unnecessary pain. But wise parents know the danger of over-protection. They know that the freedom to choose is at the heart of what it means to be human, and that a world without choice would be worse than a world without pain. Worse yet would be a world populated by people who could make wrong choices without feeling any pain. No one is more dangerous than the liar, thief, or killer who doesn't feel the harm he is doing to himself and to others. We all can freely choose what we will do. Would we tell a lie knowing that it is wrong? Would we steal knowing it is breaking a law? If you were in the Garden of Eden would you have eaten from the tree of knowledge? God has given us rules and guidelines but we have the freedom to choose. When we knowingly make the wrong choice we must realize suffering comes with the freedom to choose…

Written with love,

Pastor Ralph Stacy ‘Hibbits’