Chapter 9

There Is Someone Higher

HAVE you ever heard anyone say, “I wish I were a grown-up so I could do anything I wanted”?⁠— Have you ever wished that?⁠—

It is true that grown-ups can do some things that children cannot. But none of us can make all our own rules for life. There is someone higher than we are. Do you know who that is?⁠—

Most people agree that God is certainly higher than we are. But it is not enough to say it. We have to prove we believe it by the things that we do.

This is shown by what happened to Adam and Eve. They were the first man and woman. Some people say that the story about Adam and Eve is only make-believe. But the Great Teacher did not say that. He knew that it was true. Listen, and I will tell you what happened.

When God made Adam and Eve, he put them into a beautiful garden in a place called Eden. It was a park, a paradise. They could have lived there forever. But there was a lesson that they needed to learn. And it is a lesson that we need to learn too. It is not a hard one. It is easy if we really want to learn it.

Jehovah told Adam and Eve that they could  eat all the fruit and nuts that they wanted from the trees in Eden. But there was just one tree from which they were not to eat. Jehovah said to Adam: “But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”​—Genesis 2:17.

What would happen if they ate from that one tree?⁠— They would die. Their life depended on obedience to Jehovah God. It was not enough just to say that they believed in God. They had to show it by the things they did. That was the lesson. It was not really a hard one, was it?⁠— But it was very important.

If Adam and Eve obeyed God, they would be showing that they loved him and wanted him to be their Ruler. But if they ate from that tree, what would it show?⁠— It would show that they really were not thankful for all the things that God had given them. They would be saying: “Nobody can tell us what to do. We are going to do just as we please.”

What would you have done if you had been there? Would you have obeyed Jehovah?  Or would you have eaten from that tree?⁠—

At first Adam and Eve did obey God. But then a serpent or a snake spoke to Eve one day. Of course, a serpent cannot speak all by itself. It was an angel that made it seem as if the serpent was speaking. That angel had begun to think bad things. He wanted Adam and Eve to worship him. He wanted them to do the things that he said. He wanted to take God’s place.

So that bad angel put wrong ideas into the mind of Eve. He said to her: ‘God did not tell you the truth. You will not die if you eat from that tree. You will become wise like God.’ Would you have believed what that voice said?⁠—

Eve had no right to believe what the serpent said. Everything she had was from God. But now she began to want something that God had not given her. She ate from the tree. Then she gave some to Adam.

Adam did not believe what the serpent said. But his wanting to be with Eve was stronger than his love for God. So he ate from the tree too.​—Genesis 3:1-6.

What was the result?⁠— God had not lied. Life does depend on obedience to him. So Adam and Eve died. And they brought death to all mankind.

The Bible tells us that the angel that lied to Eve is called Satan the Devil. He is the enemy  of God. And he is our enemy too.​—Revelation 12:9.

He wants to make everyone disobey Jehovah. So he tries to put bad ideas into our minds. He says that nobody really loves Jehovah. He says that you and I don’t love God and that we don’t really want to do what God says. But is he right? Are we like that?⁠—

The Devil says that we will quit serving Jehovah if someone makes it a little hard for us. He says that we obey Jehovah only when everything goes the way we like it. He says that everyone is like that. Is he right?⁠—

The Great Teacher said that the Devil is a liar! He proved that there are people who really love Jehovah. He did not say: ‘Nobody can tell me what to do.’ Instead, he said: “The Father is greater than I am.” He obeyed Jehovah. And he did not do it only when it was easy. He did it all the time, even when other people made it hard for him. He proved true to Jehovah right down till he died. That is why God brought him back to life, to live forever.​—John 14:28.

That is what the Great Teacher did. But what will we do?⁠— If we disobey Jehovah, then we are doing what the Devil wants us to do. But if we truly love our God, we will obey his commandments. We will do it every day. And we will do it because we really want to.

(Whom will we serve​—Jehovah or the Devil? Read what the Bible says about this matter at Job 1:8-12; 2:1-5; 27:5; Proverbs 27:11.)