The Choice

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:5

Satan suggests to Eve that God is depriving her of something good, something she needs to be happy.

Think about it. Adam and Eve have a paradise environment. It's like they are on an island in the South Pacific with every need met. They have no wants, no needs. They have intimacy with God, intimacy with each other. No wars, no disease, no conflicts, no traffic problems, no work, no bills, no pressures. Not even mosquitoes! Paradise!

They have bounty. They have freedom. They have abundance. They have one and only one restriction: Do not eat of this one tree, the tree in the middle of the garden.

They have a choice. They can focus on all the good things they have and be grateful or they can focus on the one tree they cannot have and be resentful. Their choice.

We have a similar choice. We may not live in paradise but we do live in a country of bounty and freedom. We probably have the richest lifestyle in the history of the planet. Yes, we have problems. We are living after the Fall. But we have so many good things in our lives, not to mention all the riches of Christ available to us.

We can focus on all the good things in our life, all the gifts of God's goodness, and be grateful. Or, we can focus on the things we don't have, perhaps things that our neighbor has, and be resentful. Our choice: grateful or resentful.

Which one do you consistently choose?

The happiest people on earth are the people who choose to be grateful to God. The happiest people are not those with the most toys and the fewest problems, but the people who have a grateful heart.