So, the world in total, including human beings, is a dichotomy between something and nothing, positive and negative, mind and body, good and evil, heaven and earth, et cetera. Sin comes into being when people live for things which are lifeless with little or no regard for love, truth, or right, which are part and parcel of life itself. The story of Sarah and Hagar in Genesis 16: 1-16 is another example of how people exchange right for wrong. Sarah knew that the son who she favored did not have the firstborn’s rights. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but that did not stop her. She chose physical gain and prestige over what is right and just. Then she acted on her desires and lied and connived to get what she wanted. And that is the way it is with every person. People see something they want, and it seems good to them (like the Apple that seemed good to Eve as described in Genesis 3:6 (three sixes)) and then resort, if they so choose, to wrongdoing to get it. The story of Jacob and Esau is yet another glaring example of this immorality scenario. In fact, there are several stories in the Bible that deal with the subject of how sin comes into being. All depicting the back-and-forth struggle between the side of us that is not physical and the side of us that is. They all say, using play/theatrical form, what James 1:14-15 KJV says in descriptive form, that we are drawn into sin by our own wants and desires.
Things only make you richer in ways that are short lived and not truly satisfying. Love lasts forever. Truth endures, always. As the Beatles put it, ‘and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.’ And that is the blessing or the curse of it. Spend your life chasing things, even if you do not need them, or spend your life trying to perfect your morality and character: i.e. - your relationship with God. A person must find the right balance, yes. But know this. Positive ideals are genuine reality and eternal. But physical or reflected reality is superficial and fleeting. Things always go away. Remember the story of Job who by shedding things gained virtue, and wisdom, and all that heaven has to offer. It is just an addition subtraction phenomenon. Grandma, I think, was onto something when she said, ‘the difference between need and want is greed’! Native Americans had the same mindset. They lived off the land but did not take more than they needed. Sarah could have chosen what is right and grown stronger in scruples and character: i.e., stronger in righteousness. But she didn’t! She decided to do well instead. People are faced with the same ethical and moral choices every day. Humans become devilish when they stray from oneness with God (GOOD). The further away we get from good the closer we get to evil (the Devil). CHOOSE!