Deliberate choices shape life

All of us make choices, hundreds of them, every single day. Most of them are ordinary stuff, such as what to eat, drink, or wear or where to go. Some choices, however, carry heavy consequences and can affect the rest of a person’s life… or even shorten it!

When a doctor suggests an operation, a serious decision has to be made at once. Is the risk worth it? Is the surgeon skilled and dependable? Will the procedure lengthen life or put it in danger? These are not small matters, and they call for careful thought.

Long ago, other deliberate choices were made, and they still affect mankind. They also bear directly on a major question… why does God allow suffering?

A rebellion in early human history

The Bible’s account of early history shows that humanity was not the first intelligent creation with free will. Nor was human wickedness the first of its kind. A higher form of life already existed, spirit creatures called ‘angels’.

One of these spirit creatures saw a chance to set himself up as a ruler for the first man and woman instead of Jehovah, their Creator. Using his free will, he lied to the woman and led her, and later her husband, into disobedience. He suggested that God had not told the truth. He also claimed that independent thinking and action would not lead to death, even though God had said otherwise.

He then launched a rebellion against God’s rule, and millions of angels witnessed it. In that way, the issue of rightful sovereignty became a matter for all intelligent creation. That rebellious angel became God’s adversary, which is what the name Satan means. By casting doubt on God’s truthfulness, he also became the original slanderer, which is what the word ‘devil’ means. That first rebellion began the chain of events that has brought sorrow to mankind.

The cost of independence

The first man and woman had the prospect of perfect, endless life in a paradise. They and their children could have filled the earth with peace and happiness, yet that future depended on loyalty to God. Disobedience would introduce something new into the human line, imperfection and death, and these would pass to all following generations.

The apostle Paul explained the matter simply. Through the disobedience of one man, Adam, many became sinners, and death ruled over the human race. By rejecting God’s sovereignty, Adam and Eve set mankind on a course marked by suffering, sickness, and death. In the words often applied to Israel, the fault lies with humanity itself, not with God. People chose their own path, and that path became twisted.

As a result, mankind has chosen independence from God and turned away from his rule. Yet people have not escaped rule altogether. Knowingly or not, they have submitted to the power of the god of this system, who blinds the minds of unbelievers. In practice, they have become tools in the hands of the Devil, the father of lies. This shows itself in human political and religious systems that have brought hatred, disaster, and pain. The Bible is right to say that Satan is deceiving the whole inhabited world.

Why God allowed time

Why did Jehovah not end the rebellion at once by destroying Satan in Eden? Don’t ever doubt it… as Almighty God, he had the power to do just that. Yet Satan had not only attacked God’s power, he had challenged the way God exercises it. He argued, in effect, that God’s rule is wrong and not for the good of his creatures. He also claimed that humans would not stay loyal under test.

And so the matter had to be settled in a way that left no doubt. God’s answer required time, not panic.

Jesus gave a picture that helps us understand this. He told of a father and two sons. The younger son demanded his share of the property while his father was still alive. He wanted independence, and he wanted to prove he could manage on his own. The father could have stopped him at once, but that would not have solved the issue. The son would have stayed only by force, not by choice.

So the father let him go. The young man took his share and left home… he then wasted everything on a reckless life. Soon he ended up in desperate straits and took work feeding pigs. Even that miserable job did not save him from hunger. In the end, he came to his senses and decided to return home in humility, ready to ask for mercy.

What brought him to that point? Time and painful experience. His father did not rush in with harsh control. He allowed the son to see for himself where his decision led him. The suffering was real, but it taught a lesson that could not be learned any other way.

A precedent for all time

Like the son in that illustration, our first human parents chose independence from God. Unlike the prodigal son, Adam and Eve never returned to their Father. Their rebellion drew the human family into a question that could only be answered before all intelligent creation by allowing enough time to pass.

Now, after 6,000 years of life apart from God’s rule, what has been proved? The prophet Jeremiah stated the truth plainly… no human being has the right to direct his own steps. Human history confirms it. People have ruled over people to their injury. Many who have learnt that lesson are now turning to their heavenly Father for guidance, and that proves Satan’s claim false, the claim that he could turn everyone away from serving God.

Jehovah will soon act against the unrepentant Satan and those who support his independent course. That will bring the rebellion, and all its effects, to an end. Enough time has passed for a lasting lesson to be set in place for future ages. After that, there will be no need for Jehovah to allow another rebellion, whether in the visible creation or the invisible one. Time and experience have shown that neither Satan nor mankind, when cut off from God, can rule justly.

Hope after suffering

In the meantime, mankind has endured great pain and often untimely death. Jehovah has promised to answer that too. The apostle Paul said he had hope in God and that there would be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. The raising of the dead to an opportunity for perfect life on earth will be an act of great mercy. Then each one will be able to value the gift of real life!

Under the arrangement of the new heavens and a new earth, past sufferings will fade from memory and be replaced by the blessings of a happy, fruitful, and endless life. The Bible says that former things will not be brought to mind, nor will they rise up into the heart.

That hope rests on a clear lesson already established… Human rule apart from God has failed, but God’s purpose has never failed. The next step is not more human independence but trust in the one who has the right to rule and the power to end suffering for good!