I believe when God created Adam, Adam did not know good and evil. He had to receive the concept of good and evil. God said to Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  From that day on, Adam developed this logic:

      1. God determines what is good and evil.

      2. Whoever does evil will die.

      Conclusion: God loves good, but hates evil; therefore, God sets good and evil according to His desire.  When people are tempted by evil, they must consider the consequences.  For those who do good, there is no restraint. They can walk freely with God.

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      When the devil tempted Eve, he gave her a different logic:

      "You will not certainly die; for God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened; and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

        1. People can determine good and evil for themselves.

        2. What is profitable is good, and vice versa is evil.  

        Conclusion: As long as you pursue what is profitable, you are doing good; you will not die. In other words, God's view of good and evil is unacceptable.  

         This is really a "wicked idea."  No wonder the world has gone insane. As a result, Eve stood under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All she considered were the many benefits that she would gain from eating its fruit.

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         We Christians must guard against these "wicked ideas."  The two most common traps are "white lies" and "tithes."  

          A "white lie" is an attempt to use false and misleading information to achieve a good goal.  What is the difference between this, and "achieving a goal unscrupulously?  When those so-called white lies cause negative-effects, people still defend themselves and complain: "I meant well!  I never expect this evil result." This implies evil results were God’s mismanagement of circumstances.  “White lies” are like someone trying to extinguish fire with a bucket of fuel.   

          Christians can also face this "wicked idea" when they consider "tithing".  Should one leave a few dollars for the tithe, and do other “good” things with the rest (of course you can't rule out making yourself financially well, etc.)?         

          If we implement the following four points, we can resist "wicked ideas" in our daily lives:

           1. God determins good and evil.

           2. One dies for the evil.

           3. Before doing evil, think about the consequence rather than the perceived benefits.

           4. When you are doing good, think about the good results, even if you suffer a loss, insist on doing good.

           我相信上帝造亞當的時候，亞當不曉得何謂善惡。當上帝吩咐他：「園中各樣樹上的果子，你可以隨意吃，只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死！」

           亞當的思維就有了善惡的概念：

            1. 上帝定善惡。 2. 為惡者死。  

           結論是：上帝喜歡善，不喜歡惡；因此祂照自己的愛悪，給無知的人定善惡。當人被惡試探的時候，要考慮死亡的惡果。如此類推，為善是自由奔放，無憂無慮地與上帝同行。

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           魔鬼引誘夏娃的時候，給人另一個思維邏輯。

          「你們決不會死；因為　神知道你們吃那果子的時候，你們的眼睛就開了；你們會像　神一樣，能知道善惡。」

           意思是：1. 人可自定善惡。   2. 有利益可圖的就是善。

           這真是「鬼主意」。因爲在利益之下，黑白就難解難分了。結果夏娃在分別善惡樹下想的，盡都是吃那果子後會得到的好處。

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           我們基督徒更要防備這些「鬼主意」。最常見的兩個陷阱是在考量「善意謊言」及「十一奉獻」的過程中。

          「善意謊言」是企圖用不實、誤導的信息，達到某個好目的。這與「但求達到目的，不擇手段」有什麼分別？當那些所謂善意謊言造成反效果的時候，人還替自己辯護、抱怨說：「我本意是好的呀！沒想到會發展成這個結果。」言下之意是，促成惡果者是上帝，與我本意無關，責任該由上帝來負才對。試想，拿著一桶燃油，到處滅火，不是在作惡是什麼？

            基督徒考量「十一奉獻」的時候，也會面對這「鬼主義」。把十一奉獻留下幾分，可做別的好事或有益的事(當然不排除使自己經濟狀況寬裕等)。 我們若堅持以下四點，在日常生活中就能抵擋「鬼主意」。

            1. 上帝定善惡。 

            2. 為惡者死。  

            3. 作惡前，要思惡果 (好處？連想都不要想)。

            4. 為善的時候，多想善果。雖然吃虧，也不更改。

 

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