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<blockquote data-quote="Alexander_English" data-source="post: 1524836" data-attributes="member: 18147">Absolutely, I agree with you.&nbsp; God created the world for us to enjoy, and gave us the choice between obedience+reward or rebellion+punishment.&nbsp; As you said, &quot;that we partake in it appropriately&quot;, that is, according to His will.In my experience, I cannot do this myself, because I always use my free will to choose rebellion and evil.&nbsp; Yes, my will is free by the way God created it, but in a way it is bound because I can&#039;t stop thinking, saying, and doing wrong.&nbsp; My compulsive, willful rebellion stops me from enjoying the good world God created for me to enjoy.I believe this is why God paid for my sin by His own blood and suffering on the cross, because by doing so He gave me a new nature that loves doing good, and I am now capable of using my free will in the correct way.&nbsp; By His own power, not my own, He answered this prayer:&quot;Create in my a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.&quot;&nbsp; Psalm 51:10I think this is where verses about hating the world, and even our own families, make sense.&nbsp; For example also:“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.&quot;&nbsp; Luke 14:26In context this verse is about the cost of following Jesus, all the things you will have to give up if they oppose you.&nbsp; But the theme of despising the world and putting no value in it, I believe is because our willful sin has corrupted us, ruined all good things in creation for us, and made all enjoyment impossible.&nbsp; Thus, Jesus, His preaching, His commandments, and rightly understanding and partaking of the blood He shed on the cross, are of infinitely greater importance than anything in the world.&quot;God created the world good and I am to enjoy it properly of my own free will&quot; is definitely true, but it&#039;s missing the biggest and most important part of the story, the suffering of the Lord on the cross, where He fixed my broken free will and gave me the new heart I could not give myself.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Alexander_English, post: 1524836, member: 18147"] Absolutely, I agree with you. God created the world for us to enjoy, and gave us the choice between obedience+reward or rebellion+punishment. As you said, "that we partake in it appropriately", that is, according to His will. In my experience, I cannot do this myself, because I always use my free will to choose rebellion and evil. Yes, my will is free by the way God created it, but in a way it is bound because I can't stop thinking, saying, and doing wrong. My compulsive, willful rebellion stops me from enjoying the good world God created for me to enjoy. I believe this is why God paid for my sin by His own blood and suffering on the cross, because by doing so He gave me a new nature that loves doing good, and I am now capable of using my free will in the correct way. By His own power, not my own, He answered this prayer: "Create in my a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 I think this is where verses about hating the world, and even our own families, make sense. For example also: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26 In context this verse is about the cost of following Jesus, all the things you will have to give up if they oppose you. But the theme of despising the world and putting no value in it, I believe is because our willful sin has corrupted us, ruined all good things in creation for us, and made all enjoyment impossible. Thus, Jesus, His preaching, His commandments, and rightly understanding and partaking of the blood He shed on the cross, are of infinitely greater importance than anything in the world. "God created the world good and I am to enjoy it properly of my own free will" is definitely true, but it's missing the biggest and most important part of the story, the suffering of the Lord on the cross, where He fixed my broken free will and gave me the new heart I could not give myself. [/QUOTE]

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