Good and evil, right and wrong, holiness and wickedness are the issues involved in this great cosmic conflict, in this great war between between between Christ and Satan 😈.
The battle us being fought over our minds and our actions determine on which side we are, whether we are on the side of Christ or on the side of Satan. In the garden of Eden 🌳 , there were two great trees, one called the tree of life and the other the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The two trees represent two great principles, the tree of life represented Christ, obedience to God, love ❤. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents selfishness, self willed.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented obedience to Satan 😈😱? So what tree 🌳 are you eating from today ? We are going to look at two different Bible characters to help us see from which tree we are eating from.
The first one is king David 🤴🏾. God blessed him abundantly, took him from a shepherd boy to a king. David had many wives 👰🏽👰🏽👰🏽👰🏽👰🏽 as was the customs of kings in those days.
But one day as he was walking on the balcony of his palace, he saw a fine woman taking a bath 🚿. David was struck by her beauty and ask for her to be brought to him. They told the king she was the wife of one of his best soldiers, David did not care.
David did not care because he wanted to sleep with her, he didn't care about her husband, he didn't care about what God said about adultery, he wanted her and he was going to have her, all David cared about was satisfying his lust, his ego, his pride . So David went and slept with her and the rest is history, the woman end up being pregnant 🤰🏾 and David had her husband killed in order to save himself from co sequences.
David was eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 🌳 at that moment. David was following the guidance of Satan, David was walking in the way of evil, the way of selfishness.
The principle of evil is to follow your own desires despite what God says and regardless of how it affects others, selfishness in action. Where selfishness reigns, you better believe Satan 😈 is in charge. My friend, if you are living based on how you feel no matter what God says, no matter how it impacts others then you are following the guidance of Satan, matter of fact Satan is your god and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil your daily meal 🍎.
The essence of evil is doing whatever you want, the essence of evil is taking advantage of God's love and the vulnerability of others to fulfill your own selfish desires
What about the good, what about love, how does love work 🤔? Let's look at the story Joseph. Joseph was a slave in Egypt, the house of Potiphar the captain of the guards 💂🏽♂️. Joseph became great in the house of his master and his master put him in charge of the whole household.
Joseph was also a handsome young man 🧔🏾 and Potiphar's wife wanted him bad, want to have sex with him, and she kept nagging him, throwing herself at him but he resisted and one day she finally had enough and laid hands on Joseph 😧, but Joseph said " there is none greater in this house than I , neither have my master kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife 👰🏽.
How can I do this great wickedness , and sin against God 🤔? This is the definition of love, of loving the good, of obeying God ❤😊. Joseph could have slept with the wife 👰🏽, but he cared about his master, he said my master has not kept back anything from me in this house but you, I'm not going to betray my master, I'm not going to take advantage of his trust , I'm not going to abuse my position, I'm not going to take advantage of a desparate woman.
But most importantly I am not going to sin against God, God gave me my good looks, I'm not going to use my looks for selfish aims that dishonor God. God gave me my body, I'm not going to use it for sinful use.
God gave me my position, I'm not going to abuse it. God is my Father , I am not going to disobey Him or take advantage of His love ❤. Such is the essence of holiness, purity, righteousness. It is the denial of self, selfish ambition for the glory of God, the denial of some selfish advantage for the benefit of others. In not sleeping with the wife of another man, Joseph honored God and protected the honor of his master.
Joseph ended up in prison for his righteousness but he ended up in prison because Potiphar didn't really believe the accusations of his wife against Joseph,. Had he believed his wife accusation, he would have put Joseph to death.
Doing right in an evil world can have negative consequences but when you do right the Lord will be with you as He was with Joseph. So friends, from what tree 🌳 are you eating today ? The tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Are you using your gifts, your looks, your talents for selfish means or are you using them for the glory of God and the welfare of men 🤔. Are you living a life of self denial or a life of taking advantage of the goodness of God and the vulnerability, trust of others 🤔?
Two trees 🌳🌴 are before us daily , from which one are you eating ? My advice eat from the tree of life. Lord help me to do good always
Amos 5:15
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph
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