Too Many Choices Make the Water Dirty and Cloud Decision Making
Ed, my neighbor next door, has been bombarded with too many choices lately. He is planning for his coming seeding time. He said that it used to be that a person only had a few choices as to what he would plant, and what fertilizer and weed spray to use, if any. Now it much harder to decide what you want to plant, and how much, other costs you are willing to invest. According to Ed, life is better when you only have to pick one out of two possible choices.
It seems to me Ed is right. Life offers tremendous variety today and has gone from simple to confusing, and even on to the complicated stage. Some of us old guys grew up when there was no such thing as having it all. A roof over your head, warmth in the cold, and food to eat were enough for everyone. Clothes were not fashion statements. It was clothes to wear, second hand or hand-me-downs if they fit you. One radio and later one television were shared by everyone in the family. The phone on the wall belonged to everyone and the other folks on the party line too. Today, everyone has their own phone but which particular phone to buy out of all the possible choices. Now, more is seen as better, but it leads to confused and complicated choices for everyone from young to old.
In the garden, of Eden, Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. God warned them that eating of the fruit of the tree would lead to their death. The serpent came along and complicated the thinking about the tree for Eve. The serpent assured Eve that if she and Adam should eat the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden they would not die. He also told Eve that if she ate of the tree her eyes would be open, and she would be like God knowing good and evil. The serpent meant to deceive Eve, and he succeeded. Even with just two choices, don’t eat of the fruit of the tree, or do eat of the fruit of the tree, things got very confused and complicated. All choices, whether they are simple, confused, or complicated result in consequences. Choosing to give into temptation never ends well.
The serpent or the devil wanted to destroy Eve and Adam and their sinless relationship with God. He wanted them to experience evil, not good, death not life. The devil was an enemy to Adam and Eve because he hates God and seeks to destroy everything good, especially faith in Christ. Satan even tempted Jesus when he was here on earth. Jesus was not deceived by the lies of Satan’s temptations.
In the church season of Lent, we ponder Christ’s love for us. Jesus, as the Son of God, lived, died and arose to destroy the devil’s work. Jesus was willing to be the atoning sacrifice for all sin. God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ. Those that choose to believe in Christ do not have their sins counted against them and have a life now and eternally.
