Why Did God Create a Flawed World Where Eve Could Eat the Forbidden Fruit?

This question was sent into Probe Ministries, Thursday, August 11, 2011, and I thought the discussion and thoughts were great on both sides. The ending answer from Sue was very well thought out though more scripture usage would have been applauded. I am posting to remember this Q and A, and as well sharing for those emotional conversations like this we all have faced.


Questioner:
I found Rick Rood's article on The Problem of Evil helpful in some way, but I was hoping to find some additional information. No where in my search have I seen anyone address the issue of why God allowed Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. Surely God knew Eve would be tempted by Satan (the serpent). Why did he allow this? Surely he must have known this would be the downfall of his creation, Earth? And subsequently the root of all pain, hate, and evil to come in the world, both behind and ahead of us. If God had intended for us to live in a Paradise here on Earth, he never would have permitted this event to occur, indeed the event that destroyed what civilization could have been. Instead, God MADE it necessary to save us from ourselves through Jesus. WHY WAS THIS NECESSARY? WHY THE DRAMA? IS GOD SO LONELY AND SELFISH HE CONCOCTED THIS FANTASTIC REALITY SO THAT MANKIND WOULD LOVE AND REVERE HIM? TO THINK THAT WE COULD ALL BE HAPPY AND LOVING AND TOGETHER AS A PEOPLE HERE ON EARTH, RATHER THAN THE CESSPOOL WE HAVE TODAY, MAKES ME SCREAM OUT IN ANGER AT THE GOD WHO SAYS HE LOVES US.

THE EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS NOT ALL POWERFUL AND ALL LOVING IS ON TV. DOES GOD LIKE THE ATTENTION? IS ANY ADVERTISING GOOD ADVERTISING FOR HIM?

It seems to me God wanted this to happen--he made it happen. He WANTS us to suffer, in order to be driven TO Him. That must be the only way he figured we would love and come to Him? I've heard that God does not need us. But surely he does, or he would not have introduced pain and suffering to the world to drive us to him. Without it, why would we need him, goes the argument.

We have the perfect Villain--Satan--to blame everything bad on. But Satan did not create Adam and Eve. Satan did not make the Tree. And where was God when the Serpent came sliding in in? Did God not know Eve would eat it? TO ME, THIS IS THE MOST CRUCIAL QUESTION IN ALL OF HUMANITY. Assuming God is all knowing, he knew what would happen, the chaos for all time it would bring, and chose to do nothing. Or rather, let it happen. Had God stepped up at the crucial moment, we would all be loving and happy and together here on Earth, JUST AS IT WAS INTENDED. GOD MADE THE WORLD WHAT IT IS TODAY. GOD CREATED MAN'S HEARTS, GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THAT HAPPENS. UNLESS YOU BELIEVE SATAN IS ON PAR AT EQUAL STRENGTH WITH GOD, THEN GOD HAS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE. IT'S TIME RESPONSIBILTY WAS PLACED WITH THE RIGHTFUL OWNER.


Sue:
Hi ______,

I will be happy to talk to you about this, but first I have a question: do you have any children?

Sue Bohlin


Questioner:
Thank you for your response, I really do appreciate it. No, I don't have any children. I smell an analogy using children coming....Something like "As a parent, we do things in the best interest of our children, and it is only until later in life that those same children understand the actions that were taken...". One analogy I have heard puts God in the example as the parent and us as the children. I would never have children until I was able to resolve these questions in my own mind and heart. Otherwise I am sure I would pass on the same frustration about God to my family.

After even more thought, I guess the Root of my problem/question is creation, and specifically why God created a flawed world intentionally. I use the word "flawed" in the sense that he

• Knowingly created an access point for evil for all the world (apple tree)
• Had foreknowledge Eve would eat from it
• Knew that eating from it would result in Sin throughout mankind
• That the sin would cause great suffering to all of God's People
• That it would be necessary for God to "save" the world through his Son


Is God so selfish he would intentionally and knowingly cause all this so we would "choose" him through the salvation in Jesus and 2) He must have known it would turn out like this (the hell that is our world today).

I must sound like a maniac, but I'm 29, well educated, catholic raised and partially practicing, with a good heart. I want to love God, but when I am honest with myself I realize I don't. In fact I hate the person I have concluded God to be. I love Jesus, and of course do believe he died for my sins. My problem is with the Father, and why this grand scheme to make everyone love him was necessary. He could have designed us that way. I finally stopped prayer almost entirely 3 years ago, because I would get so mad and angry at God during prayer--because I would find myself 1) praying for the same stuff with no result 2) many of the things I was praying about were caused by God (natural disasters, human suffering, etc.) When I say human suffering is caused by God, of course I understand free will and that people cause suffering. I hold God accountable for allowing evil and pain and suffering to exist.

Hope this provides you with a little more insight into my problem. If you are able to assist or offer a new perspective that would be great. Thank You.


Sue:
Dear ______,

I believe the answer to your question is the fact that God has a very big plan for creation that we cannot see from our vantage point in space and time. He knew before He created anything, what would be the best way to get to His final desire, which is to provide a Bride for His Son. Just as any man wants a woman to marry him freely and out of love and commitment and support, the Lord Jesus wanted a Bride who chose Him freely. The only way to have a Bride who chose Him freely was to create people who could also choose freely to reject Him.

Could God have made people who couldn't have chosen NOT to love Him? No. Love means choice, and the other alternative would have been to create automatons who were programmed to behave in a certain way. If I read your e-mail correctly, you believe God could have made a world in which we were "happy and loving and together as a people here on earth," but He didn't and you're mad at Him for that. People without choice cannot be happy and loving. (Have you ever used a word-processing program that automatically changes what it thinks are misspellings and punctuation errors? No matter what you type, the program rearranges your letters, removing your choice. I don't know about you, but "happy and loving" doesn't describe me when I growl, "That's not what I meant! Let me type things MY way!")

I would suggest that an ant colony is busy and productive, ant-wise, but they are not happy and loving. They ARE together, but in the scope of eternity, what does it matter? Their behavior is programmed, but there is no depth to any of it.

God created a world in which the people WERE happy and loving and together, and they chose to trash it. I guess you don't have any trouble accepting that reality; if I'm not mistaken, what you want is all the benefits of Eden without the choice to trash it. I can certainly understand that! :) But you also haven't seen the end of the story, either, when everything is made right again, and that's exactly what we will have. I respectfully suggest that that's the part you're missing. The big picture where God restores creation to its original perfect state. I also respectfully suggest that the evidence of the world today that God is not all-powerful and all-loving, is actually evidence that God is very patient. He's not finished yet. He's allowing a certain amount of pain and suffering--which He will redeem, every bit of it--because there is a larger purpose behind it. Our inability to see it doesn't mean it's not there.

I asked if you if you had children because this is one of the things we can learn about God as parent when we have children. I passionately love my children, but I allowed them to experience pain of immunizations and school tests and other things they hated because I had a larger purpose for them besides preventing discomfort and pain in their lives. For instance, now that my son is in college, he's glad I made him do his homework in 5th grade although he sure didn't at the time. I never lost sight of the big goal, of maturity, because I am his mother who loves him and wants the best for him. God never loses sight of His big goal either.

You have a lot of company in being angry with God for allowing pain and suffering to exist. In fact, many wise people have said that pain and suffering is the single biggest evidence that God is not good. Or that He doesn't exist. (But then, if there were no God, and we evolved by chance, then where did we get this idea that life is unfair and broken? Life just IS, according to that worldview. But we are haunted by the sense that things should be much better than they are. And sure enough, God has revealed that we live in a fallen and broken world that is so much less than what He originally created for us. We're the ones who blew it.)

But you're not there; you know God exists, and you apparently resent Him for being a bad God for allowing life as we know it.

I'm afraid all I have to offer you is what God has revealed to us: that there IS a bigger plan, than He will make all the pain and suffering worth it some day. If you insist that there was a way for God to create people who could freely choose to either love Him or ignore/hate Him AND there be no chance for pain and suffering in the exercise of that choice, then I guess you will continue to be irreconcilably angry. You may as well fume over God not making a "square circle" or "light-filled darkness." God is a powerful God, but He is not able to create nonsense.

You know that Jesus came to earth and was tortured and died to pay the penalty for our sin. And bless you, you love Him for it. Jesus coming into the midst of our suffering and pain is the clearest indication of the Father's heart there is. He didn't do or say a single thing that was not the Father's will, and to see Jesus is to see the Father. So to hate the Father and love the Son is inconsistent. They are one God with one heart. It cost the Father everything to let the Son pay for our sins, and it cost the Son His life. That's how valuable we are to Them.

The bottom line here, ______, is that what you want God to have done is something He couldn't do. He couldn't make a world for Him to lavish with His love that didn't include the ability to reject that love. Otherwise creation would have been pointless, and God never does anything pointlessly.

May I suggest, humbly, that you try a prayer again, even though it's been three years, and ask God to show you what you're not getting? Ask Him to open your eyes to see the truth about Him and His ways? And ask Him to help you deal with your anger? He's not intimidated by it; He fully understands your frustration. And He'd love to relieve you of the burden of that anger and replace it with His peace.

I hope this helps, even a little.

Sue Bohlin
Probe Ministries

Freedom vs 'dying animal'

As I was reading my Bible, I was led to a verse, Psalm 73:26, which I had found very encouraging a few months ago. Loving Psalms, I began reading the whole chapter and I was a little amazed. You see, when I wrote this section in the Marijuana blog:

“It hurts to see the body of Christ getting sick and hiding them selves in the same manner as dying animals do. As the body of Christ we are to be there for one another and be able to confide and seek accountability with one another. The body of Christ is to help one another in needs and weaknesses. We are not to hide our faults, but be open with them so that finally nothing is hidden for Satan to keep a foothold on in our lives (1 Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 4:27).”

I did not really like the part talking about Christians hiding their sins like dying animals. It was a hard reality to put in ink and the visual bothered me. When I went back make it ‘cleaner,’ it felt wrong, and so I left it alone. What I found altering was in reading all of Psalm 73, verses 21-24 and of course again verse 26 stuck out to me:

²¹ Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
²² I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory…

²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

David was a man after God’s own heart, and after his sin with Bathsheba was shown to him, he wrote Psalm 51. Here David repented, begged God not to leave him, and asked God to change his heart once again into His. His feelings of inadequacy did not stop there and Satan was constantly attacking David’s view of himself and how God must think of him, even though the prophet Nathan had told David God has forgiven his sins. David still had these feelings of frustration and sadness with his ignorance and foolishness. David felt like a beast before God, and that he had become something too detestable for God to even look upon.

This is what many of us feel like once we see our sins and how wretched we truly are. We hate them and despise them and feel like a beast with no future, hence where “dying animal” picture came from in my blog post, but that is not who we are. God has promised to continuously be with us, to hold us up with his victorious right hand, to continue to guide us, and still sees us as a glorious adornment for Him to receive. I might fail, but my God will never fail or leave me. God does not desire sacrifice but a pure and contrite spirit is pleasing and acceptable to Him (Psalm 51:17; Psalm 40:6). Once we repent and turn from our sin, God can then be “the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

So quit believing the lies Satan is trying to trap you with, but step into freedom and life in God. He died so you would not have to live in bondage anymore as a chained animal, but as a child of the living God. God said to Cain in Genesis 4:7, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Cain gave in and committed the first murder in the Bible; by us giving into our sin, we are leading to our own death of who we are as God’s. Rule over sin by being weak in God and giving Him the glory in all things.

God and Marijuana: Taking a look

I decided to write this blog due to the increased number of youth members, relatives, and friends who continue to justify the inhalation of marijuana. I originally was just researching for my own knowledge, but upon coming across a web page that blatantly misrepresented God and pushed their own agenda as ‘truth,’ I decided to conduct more research over the subject. This blog site was http://www.equalrights4all.org/religious/bible.htm for your own knowledge.

My initial reaction to this justification being made was sadness that then moved to frustration. Many other events have occurred as of late in areas of hypocrisy demonstrated and then hidden by Christians (1 Corinthians 10:12). It hurts to see the body of Christ getting sick and hiding them selves in the same manner as dying animals do. As the body of Christ we are to be there for one another and be able to confide and seek accountability with one another. The body of Christ is to help one another in needs and weaknesses. We are not to hide our faults, but be open with them so that finally nothing is hidden for Satan to keep a foothold on in our lives (1 Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 4:27). When we separate ourselves from the body we can begin to become easily confused by the world’s priorities and the world’s gray areas. God has no gray areas. There is black and there is white. We are not to hide away when we fall, but fall into the church and Christ even harder to carry us (James 4:7). We are all in the process of becoming “Christ-like,” and still have many faults. But that is the beauty of it! God WANTS to help us live the righteous life he has called us too (Titus 3:5-7). He gave His son as the perfect example how to live and as the ultimate and only sacrifice that will cover our sins (wrongs, ignorance, failings, greed, lust, selfishness, etc) (1 Peter 1:13, 17-21; 1 Timothy 2:3-6).

So getting back to the main discussion: I am not going to write all of this in one blog because that would be ridiculously long. I am going to give a basis for now and in future blogs go to each verse the individual used in his blog that I believe misinterpreted scripture and took it out of context from its original meaning. This particular blog will cover my thoughts and research mainly over marijuana, and what I believe the Word of God is saying concerning this matter. I ask that you read and have an open mind to what I have to say please, and would love to hear where you disagree.

To begin, one of the main reasons I believe the Bible speaks out concerning cannabis goes back to looking at what a Christian is. A Christian is someone who believes in God, repents of their sins, follows God and what His desires are for our life, which is living a righteous life in Christ, and commitment to being what Christ desires (Philippians 2:12-13; Romans 12:1; Matthew 6:24; Psalm 107:13-14; Ephesians 4:22-24). That means, according to Luke 9, denying our-self of our own desires and losing our life to Christ, and in reality gaining true life at last. Romans 6:1, 2 says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

If you believe in Jesus and call yourself a Christian then do that. I am just taking a guess here, but I am pretty sure God’s ultimate purpose in your life is to not get high and to fight for your freedom to get a high. As Rick Warren so beautifully put it in his book 40 Days of Purpose, “It’s not about you,” it is about God. The whole Bible, creation to Revelations is about…God. Everything is about God. God’s ultimate purpose for your life will be following Jesus. He is your goal. God is your great reward according to Genesis 15:1. Do not be afraid of that. Also in 2 Corinthians 5:16-18, it says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! We need to let go of this dead world. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7. If God has given us a sound mind, why would you think He wants you to do His work while you are on a high? The “highest density of the cannabinoid receptors…” are located in “parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.” (http://drugabuse.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Marijuana.pdf). Can you really serve your purpose on this earth while inhibiting your ability to receive pleasure, to remember things, to concentrate, to walk and on and on? All this occurs with just one hit. This cannot be moderated. It can only be moderated in how often you do it. Alcohol you can moderate and it will not truly inhibit any of these unless you abuse it. The Bible talks about the abuse of alcohol in many areas and Paul warns, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18. They drank it back then, but in moderation and for pinnacle moments. I recommend you to check out Daniel Whitfield’s write up to see good research and logic on this subject, since my blog is mainly delving into marijuana. His link is: http://wooga.drbacchus.com/bible/alcohol.html.

So to the point, the JOY of the Lord is to be your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)…NOT cannabis. In 1 Peter 4:1-6, Peter goes into what it means to be a Christian, what others see when you live in sin, and who we are now in Christ.

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.”

Peter in essence is saying, “Stop it! You have lived this way long enough! You are better thanthat now! Quit doing what you know is of the world.” Yes, there are passages in the Old Testament that say “eat drink and be merry” and other references to men of God getting drunk in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, but ask yourself, under what covenant are you under now? Have you sacrifices a lamb or a bull recently? I sure have not, but Christ’s ultimate sacrifice of Himself on the cross has begun the new covenant with His children. Peter is telling us, we are invited to a higher calling now and have the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness, to guide, and to comfort us. Hard times happen and in 1 Peter 5:6-9 we can see God’s truth.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

God does not want you going through life half way there. He wants you to experience life. He did not create this earth for you to sleep walk through it, but to enjoy it and His people in it. Go to Him for comfort. He knows what you are going through. He knows you are human and will not be perfect in your own strength. Numbing yourself will not move you any further down the road He has for you. Instead be weak in God, let Him truly lead you in His strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Let go of the things you think are important and take on what God says is important. I am thinking He knows better than we do. He did create everything. The more you know Him the more peace you will live in Him (2 Peter 1:2).

We are to be examples to those around us of Christian living. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Romans 12:2. One pot head looks like the next pot head. When non Christian pot heads see “Christian” pot heads, they do not see Christ, which is who we are to exemplify. They see a hypocrite and make fun of them for pushing Christ on them while they themselves are habitually living a sin by selling and using an illegal substance (this is not me making up a scenario, but a real example). Christ asks us to repent when our wrongs are shown to us (Proverbs 28:13). “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” 1 Peter 1:13-14. God has called us to live a life given completely over to Him. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17.

Now hear me out. I know we feel the government should not be as involved in our lives as they are. I wholeheartedly agree. As well as some believe this entails the government’s involvement with their personal use of marijuana. Again I agree they are appearing a bit law happy at best. It is sad people are thrown in jail for such a lame offense and something they have to be forced to be protected from due to many misusing this drug (1 Timothy 1:9). Yes, it is a drug, call it what it is. Meaning this will go under the alcohol section that was mentioned earlier. Additionally, this is also the law of the land and God has told us to obey it as long as the law does not tell you to do something against the Bible (Romans 13:1-7). Since the Bible did not command us to get high, the law is not going against the Bible. Yes, God told us to partake in His creation because it is all good (Genesis 1), but that does not mean you are going to eat a mushroom that will kill you or lick a frog with poison on its back. These are all a part of God’s creation, good for their intended purposes. I trust God asks us to use common sense with the sound mind He has given us: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” 1 Corinthians 6:12-13. Correct, I can smoke pot, but is it beneficial? No. Pot ends up mastering you in the end. God is to be our only God and master. This is even one of the 10 Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me,” (Exodus 20:3). You are going to pot to comfort and satisfy you instead of your Creator, placing it as higher importance than God. Another note concerning government, in Luke 20:25, Jesus says, “give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” Jesus still paid the temple tax; remember the story of the coin in the fish in Matthew 17? Just to end this thought, “Fear God…honor the law,” 1 Peter 2:17.

Diving into health now, marijuana is also harmful to the body in several ways. It has four times the carcinogens in the tar than cigarettes do. It as well, takes away the protective lining in the lungs leaving it open for bronchitis and pneumonia, infection, and abnormality development. Smoking marijuana will suppress your immune system; side note, definitely not a good thing for people with AIDS. It has been known to trigger underlying mental disorders such as bipolar and schizophrenia; as well as paranoia, depression, suicide, and even cause several mental disorders. It has been actually know to “accelerate the progression of HIV to full blown AIDS and increase the occurrence of infections and Kaposi sarcoma.” It affects your mental health, brain function, and memory and it can stay up to “6 weeks” in your body “after” its last use. These are just a few of the negatives that can arise. Another observation noted in research trends is that long time users have a higher tendency for their social life to be affected in they avoid crowds, lose the drive to succeed, call in sick to work more, lose their jobs, and build walls between themselves and their friends and family. (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99/marijuana/Health_1.html and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-546829/Home-Office-U-turn-cannabis-link-mental-illness-deepens.html).

To sum up the previous paragraph, consider these Bible passages:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:18

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16

You are the temple of God. God is in you! You do not own yourself. By not taking care of your body and inhaling this substance you are defiling the temple of God. That is truth you have now been faced with. What are you going to do to keep your temple pure?

I hear from many people, “If it is so bad then why do they use it for AIDS and Cancer patients?” Yes, the medicinal purposes it is to be used for are awesome in it being seen the same as a prescription drug. But, question, do you have Cancer…AIDS…Glaucoma? No? Okay. Also think of the other treatments these patients are undergoing such as Chemotherapy, Radiation treatment, poisons placed in the body, etc. Marijuana is used as a numbing factor for all of the aftereffects of those. Between life and death, Marijuana is the least of their concerns.

On the blog that started this whole response, His complaint were being people not allowed marijuana to help cope with their illnesses. Honestly, you hear very rarely a person not permitted marijuana when it was necessary. This individual’s complaint in His blog was a false advertisement in that aspect, along with many other statements he made. Now I do have an acquaintance who was bed ridden in the hospital with leukemia, and was not allowed marijuana to help with his nausea; but that is because it is a danger hazard. This makes sense in that he is in a hospital around other patients, flammable materials, possible explosions, and so on. Another example is my aunt has a prescription to use it for depression. Depression! There are several other prescription choices available to her, but they say “go ahead.” I do not agree with my aunt using it, but also she is not a Christian and so as the Bible says she cannot be held to up Jesus’ standard, so no judgment (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). It is when we see fellow Christians who want to pursue the life of Christ that we are to confront them with this sin so they do not go astray and block God from being as active in that Christian’s life.

It is hard to see so much passion and work placed in something that is not going beyond this world, value wise. This is not an eternal fight. This is a worldly fight that many Christians are fighting to solely please their own desires, not God’s. Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.” Luke 17:2. I do not want to be the reason to cause others to stumble, and I do not think you want to be that person either. Ask yourself: Why do I want marijuana to be okay, for God’s glory or for my own flesh?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:5-11

Another site I really liked that I felt encouraged and truly opened my eyes to a few things was by Rich Deem at http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/marijuana.html. He as well has a page covering the medical "benefits" of smoking cannabis at http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/medical_marijuana_review.html.


Verse References:
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Psalm 107:13-14 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.
Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money
Romans 6:1, 2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship
Romans 13:1-7 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
Ephesians 4:27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
1 Timothy 1:9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers…
1 Timothy 2:3-6 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time
Titus 3:5-7 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 1:13, 17-21 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming…Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.