Friedrich Nietzsche in his book, beyond good and evil writes:
The consequences of our actions take hold of us quite indifferent to our claim that meanwhile we have ‘improved’.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Forbidden Tree – Knowledge of Good and Evil
Every of our actions have consequences. This is a fact we should all grapple with. Whatever you do in life has consequences. These consequences can be good or evil, all depending on our actions. If our actions were good, then we should expect good consequences, and if our actions were evil, we will definitely be met with evil consequences.
In the book of Genesis chapter 2:9, we learnt that, after creating Adam and Eve, God put them in the Garden of Eden. In the middle of the Garden of Eden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. There in the garden also, was all kinds of trees, trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food that the Lord had made.
God then gave Adam and Eve the command to eat from any tree in the garden, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
As the story goes, the Serpent lured Eve to eat from the forbidden tree, Eve in turn convinced Adam to eat from it too, and the both of them lived to bear the consequences of their actions, an action that they thought would have improved their lives, they thought, just like Friedrich Nietzsche rightly pointed out in his book beyond good and evil, i.e.,
But if I may ask, why did they not look beyond good and evil and its tree? Why did they not see the tree of life and eat from eat?
Looking Beyond Good and Evil is a matter of choice
Perhaps God put the two trees in the middle of the garden, i.e., the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, to test their ability to choose wisely.
Today, good and evil abound in everything; the technology we use can be used to treat sick people, improve agriculture, educate people, ease transportation, create jobs, optimize businesses, build the economy, and do so many other good and life-saving things things. All these mentioned are some of the good things we can do with technology. At the other hand, technology can be used to create weapons of mass destruction to maim and kill people. Terrorists use technology to commit acts of terror, criminals use technology to scam and defraud people, etc. all these and many more are the evil things that can be done with technology. But it is expected of us to choose good and not evil. God put the tree of life in the same place he put the tree of knowledge of good and evil, to tell us that whenever we are faced with the challenge of not knowing the right choice to make between what is good and what is evil, then we should choose life.
If Adam and Eve had chosen to eat from the three of life, it would have been a different story altogether.
Today’s daily bible study teaches the importance of going beyond good and evil to make the choice that will bring life.
Whenever you are faced with a tough decision in life, about what is good and what is evil, endeavor to choose that which brings life. If a decision will not bring life in the end, then it’s not worth taking in the first place.
Let’s not forget that every action has its consequences, and like Friedrich Nietzsche stated, the consequences of our actions take hold of us quite indifferent to our claim that meanwhile we have ‘improved’. Sometimes we convince ourselves that our decisions are the right ones, when in the actual sense, they are horrible. In order not to make the mistake of making the wrong choice, or rather choosing evil, then, let’s focus on choosing life. The book of Deuteronomy 30 vs 19 says:
…I set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life…
Deuteronomy 30 vs 19
All that God wants for us is the best. God wants us to have life and have it abundantly. It is then our duty to make sure we take the first step of initiating our miracles.
In everything you do, always make the effort of making choices that will bring life and not death, good and not evil. May we always look beyond good and evil and focus on choosing life. Because with life comes everything good.
Let’s look beyond good and evil and choose life, and may the God Lord bless us as we do so. Amen.
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