02
Reason, Logic & Lolo
John TiltonGenesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Crafty indeed was the serpent as he conversed with the woman (Eve) and gave the woman supposed insight of reason and logic, really as to what the serpent wanted the woman to understand and believe what God was saying about the tree in the middle of the garden. The serpent was right in that the man and woman would understand good and evil, but it was not God’s will or the right thing to do. Thus, the serpent was able to cast question and doubt on the motive of God and God’s instructions to the woman, trying to diminish the authority of God with the serpent’s reason and logic. It caused the woman to see the beauty of the fruit as more important then God’s commandment. Upon eating the fruit, the man and woman realized much and probably realized their mistake. However, it was too late to undo what had been done.
Reason and logic are great attributes to have in thinking and decision-making. However, when it comes to the things and matters of God; God’s will, commandments and our obedience takes precedence over reason and logic, as reason and logic can easily be skewed and misinterpreted by man, words and perspective. We will often see things as reasonable and logical, yet only realize later that our decision was not the best and not of God’s will. I believe that the enemy is alive and well in the world today speaking and influencing people through others in an attempt to lead us away from God’s will. Often, the reason and logic of the world will seem so right, yet be so wrong if we hold the situations to the rules of God’s word. God’s word is the litmus test. It is when we don’t hold matters to God’s will that reason and logic becomes “lolo,” which in Hawaiian means lacking intelligence or wisdom. For those who esteem themselves as learned, which I do, we must prevent our intelligence from becoming our downfall when comes to matters of the spiritual realm of God and Satan who is the thief, destroyer and liar.
Dear Lord, thank you for the lesson of the man and woman in the Garden of Eden and the lesson I am able to garner of the importance of using your word to guide me through situations in life that will require reason and logic, that my decisions will be of your will.
