Pagină:Obadiah-part-I-1936.djvu/15

JUNE 15, 1936 Could not God have made man so that he could not sin, and thereby have prevented so much suffering? Of course, God, béing all-powerful, could have made a creature and called him man and made him so that it would have been impossible for him to sin. The fact that he did not do so is of itself proof that he had a good and sufficient reason for not so doing. The record is that God made man in his own image and likeness. That means that man was endowed with wisdom, justice, love and power. It was meant that man should use these faculties; otherwise God would not have en- dowed him therewith. God created man with a body, mind, will and affec- tions; and he desired man to use all the faculties with which he is endowed. To use his will would mean that man must determine to do or not to do that which was presented to him. Man was informed that to obey God is good, that to disobey him is sin and results in death. Sinee man was possessed with will power, it follows, then, that Adam must choose to do good or evil, and take the conseqnenees, Suppose God had ereated him so that he could not choose evil, but was compelled to do good; then he would have been merely a machine, with no freedom of intelligent action, God ercatud man perfect and created him for Tis own pleasure, (Rev. 4:11) God takes no pleasure in wieked things. (Ps. 5:4) Neither docs God eompel any creature to do good. ILlis purpose is that happiness and life shall result to those who do good, and suffering and death to those who do evil, Had God made man so that he eould not commit evil, that would have been equivalent to compelling him to do good. Compulsory obedience docs not bring real happiness to the Creator or to the creature. God is love, and is therefore the perfect expression of unselfishness, Ie desires his intelligent creatures to love him and to serve him because of love for him. Such could not be the result unless the service is voluntary. Man must be like God in order to be happy; which means he must be unselfish. Why, then, dtd God pun- ish disobedience, if he is unselfish? Because God is good; and everything opposed to him is wicked; and he who refuses to obey God allics himself with wicked- ness, which brings unhappiness both to himself and to the Creator. Love, or unsclfishness, means looking out for the welfare of others, and had God refused to punish disobedience it would have been to the detri- ment and not for the good of man. If God should exercise his power to compel man to obey, then he would be inconsistent ; and it is impossi- ble for God to be inconsistent. Why would he be in- consistent? Because to compel man to obey him would be selfish ; and God cannot be selfish, because he is the complete expression of unselfishness. He desires his creatures to be like unto himself, to wit, prompted by love or unselfishness. Ife does not exercise his power to compel obedience, but he exercises his power to punish disobedience for the good of the one who dis- She WATCHTOWER. Lvl obeys. The creature who loves the Creator and who loves him supremely will obey him. Fer this reason his rule is announeed by Jesus, his beloved Son, thus: ‘““He that hath my commandments, and kcepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me nct keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.’’— John 14: 21, 23, 24. For the same reason it is written: ‘‘Love is the ful- filling of the law.’’ (Rom. 13:10) That means that he who is prompted by unselfishness in his devotion to God, and who obeys for that reason, meets every re- quirement of God’s law. Dad Adam exercised love toward God he would have obeyed him. Adam was sel f- ish and desired to serve himself, His wife was a part of himself, and for selfish reasons he wanted to be with her; hence he disobeyed God. Jehovah never has done anything contrary to love, and never will. Ile gave this commandment to the Tsvaclites: ‘‘And thou shalt love the Lord thy Cod with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.’’ (Deut. 6:5) Some may ask: Was not this a rule compelling the Israclites to love hin, and was it not prompted by selfishness on the part of Je- hovah? No! The Israelites were then imperfect. God was their true and only Friend. Obedience to his com- mandments meant life to them. They could obey only if they loved Jchovah; therefore Jehovah gave com- mandment, not because of selfishness on his part, but for the good and well-being of the Israelites. This an- nounces the unchangeable rule of Jehovah that he who would enjoy life and happiness must love the Lord Jehovah with all his heart, mind, and soul or person. To be completely happy man must exercise his own will freely, and always be prompted in so exercising it by love or unselfishness. Experience bears out that if he is prompted by selfishness and does wrong, hie suffers. If he is prompted by unsclfishness and does rieht, he is blessed. There may have been many reasons why God did not make man so that he could not sin, and why he has permitted wickedness to have sway over such a long period of time; but it is certain that there are at least three good and sufficient reasons which appear, and these are: First, to prove that he ean put ereatures on this earth who, under conditions of temptation and stress, will maintain complete integrity and devotion toward him; second, to afford ample time for the selee- tion and development of the new creation, through whom wickedness is to be eradicated and the blessings of life and happiness brought to the people in due time; and, third, to afford ample time for Satan the Devil to remain and vo his limit in wickedness to try