A Great Unseen Law!

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Everyone understands the law of gravity. All recognize that if they break this law, it could “break” them. If one accidentally drops a brick on his foot, the result could be broken bones. If a skydiver jumps from an airplane, and the parachute fails to open, the result is certain death. This is easy to understand.

Here are some examples that are only a little less obvious, but are just as true. If a person is constantly sick, it is obvious that laws of health (proper diet, enough exercise, or sufficient sleep, etc.) are being broken. Bad health has one or more causes. If a marriage ends in divorce, it can also be attributed to one or more causes: lack of communication, financial woes, death of a child, sexual problems, unhappiness on the job, etc. If someone is pulled over for drunk driving, it is easy to see the cause.

While most never identify cause and effect as an immutable LAW governing almost every action in life, they are at least generally aware that it is a principle at work in certain circumstances.

But every effect can be traced to one or more causes. Unwanted or illegitimate pregnancies, crime, drug addiction, bankruptcy, and a thousand other effects, can all be linked to specific causes. Create your own list. You may find it to be almost endless.

The King James Version of the Bible teaches, “… the curse causeless shall not come” (Prov. 26:2). Two other translations of this verse are “… the undeserved curse will never hit its mark” (Jerusalem Bible), and “… the baseless curse never goes home” (Moffatt). This scripture is saying that every difficulty carries a reason—there is a CAUSE for every EFFECT!

Why can man not see this law at work when he looks at the world as a whole? Why is it that no one is looking for the cause of this world’s ills and evils? Why are educators not teaching this greatest of all principles? As you look at the world around you, are you concerned with it? Do you ever wonder WHY it is filled with misery, unhappiness, and discontent? And why has even the Christian religion ignored this important relationship between cause and effect?

The cause of all the world’s troubles began in the Garden of Eden. As simple as this sounds, it is true. The world has lost sight of a decision made by Adam and Eve. They chose not to eat of the Tree of Life, choosing instead to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Have you ever wondered what would have happened if those two people had chosen the Tree of Life? Think of how this would have changed the entire world! Everything would be different.

There would be no armies, wars, death, devastation, or displacement of peoples. There would be no famine or hunger because there would be plenty of food for everyone. There would be no doctors, because there would be no illness. None of the hospitals and clinics would ever have existed. Neither would the prisons, jails, judges, courts, and police forces that exist to punish lawbreakers.

Happiness, abundance, prosperity, and peace would have been experienced worldwide. All people would get along—neighbours, families, individuals, and nations. Can you imagine such a world?

When Adam and Eve made the wrong decision, it directly affected you and me! They brought untold effects upon humanity, because of their single wrong CAUSE—and this has not been understood prior to the 20th Century.

Let’s further examine the truth of WHY the world is afflicted with unending problems.

The Carnal Mind

Before continuing, let’s examine a big reason violating the law of cause and effect has beset the world with insoluble problems. Paul records an amazing statement: “Because the carnal [physical] mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7). Other translations use the stronger phrase “is the ENEMY of God” in place of “is enmity against God.”

For those who will believe it, this single passage offers startling insight into the working of the physical—“carnal”—mind of every human being. Cut off from God, the natural mind is God’s enemy—it hates Him. Think of it! Ask yourself if any minister, religionist, or theologian has ever explained this to you.

No! The religious leaders of this world never refer to this. They either ignore this understanding entirely or do not recognize its great implications for mankind as a whole!

This verse plainly says that the natural mind does not want, and even hates, to yield to God and obey His Law. While most people profess that they “love God,” the truth is that their minds despise His Way and refuse to truly submit to Him—to His authority over their lives. No wonder Jeremiah wrote, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). This is another incredible statement. When confronted with problems or important decisions, men simply DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO! They are at a loss for how to correctly address and solve the challenges, difficulties, and problems they face in their personal lives.

How then can they solve the far more complex problems engulfing civilization today? They cannot. Solutions born of human reasoning always generate more problems. We will learn why.

Groping for Peace

Nothing can be understood or accomplished without proper knowledge. Even something as simple as changing a tire requires “know how.” Without right knowledge, mankind stands completely powerless—absolutely helpless—before his problems. Because man has rejected the SOURCE of right knowledge, he is surrounded by terrible troubles.

Consider just one world problem that has defied all humanly-devised solutions throughout recorded history: finding peace. Man has literally barred himself from the knowledge that would make this possible. Just look at the daily newspaper headlines. War seems to literally grip the planet in every part of the world.

This is because the governments of men simply do not work. They have never succeeded in finding permanent solutions to civilization’s problems. They lack the essential knowledge necessary to solve them. They do not have the answers to mankind’s greatest questions. Man does not, of himself, understand the path to peace—or, for that matter, the path to abundance, happiness, health, and prosperity. The greatest thinkers, leaders, educators and scientists have failed miserably in their quest for peace on Earth. God has not yet revealed to mankind, as a whole, how to achieve the solution to war.

Is it any wonder God inspired the prophet Hosea to record, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you” (Hosea 4:6)? Mankind could have known, understood and had access to far more important, vital knowledge about how to live, but chose to reject it. As a result, God rejected—CUT OFF—man from access to Him. And this cuts men off from the very solutions to the terrible, worsening problems that they now have.

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