YOU explain free will to a 14 year old Nepali!

September 27, 2009
The Garden of Eden. Such a complicated and yet simple story. You have God, you have man, you have woman. Oh yeah, and that devilish snake enticing mankind to turn on their maker and creator. I understand temptation, yes, but temptation coming from a snake?! Maybe that’s why they’re so often despised and feared... Anyway, Laxuman looked at Chloe and I after dinner, and with a smile said, “Sister, I have a question.” Chloe, realizing what was coming, said “No no no, ask your other sister!” as she said to me, “Good luck explaining free will.” Sure enough, Laxuman said, “Sister, God knows everything that’s going to happen, right? So why did He put the tree and the snake in the garden? He knew that we would choose to sin!”

I have trouble with free will when talking with people from my church and Bible studies in the US; you can’t imagine the brain pain that went into explaining something I don’t fully understand to a 14 year old Nepali boy speaking English as a second language coming from a background of Hinduism! As confusing as that sentence was, I think my explanation was even more confusing for him. I tried to liken the fact that if God didn’t give us a choice, then we’d be like dolls, who go everywhere with God, but can’t really do anything on our own as we don’t have choice so how can we love God? He followed with me really well, surprisingly, but then he stated simply, “But sister, dolls aren’t alive. I am.” Analogy shot. So I kinda tried again, stumbling a bit here and there, but feeling a little better when he said, “Sister, it’s ok. My pastor and uncle Krishna can’t explain it to me either.” Chloe laughed and said, “When we get to heaven we’ll ask God, ok Laxuman?!” With a grin, he decided that for now that will have to work.

But our conversation didn’t end there. Then came, “Why did people choose to sin in the garden? They knew what God wanted, but they chose the fruit instead!” This one was a little easier. See, we’ve been fighting the battle of the motorcycle recently. There’s often a really old motorcycle parked in the house driveway, so when Uncle Krishna leaves, Laxuman will get a spoon or some other metal object and start the thing. Don’t ask me how. But waiting until Uncle leaves is key. Because, naturally, Uncle does not want a 14 year old boy playing on an old motorcycle. And it’s been hard for me to explain just why that’s wrong to him, and how we should honor those in authority over us, as Uncle is our authority.

But with that question, God gave the perfect opportunity to dive into it! So, with a grin, I said, “Laxuman, why do you wait until Uncle leaves to ride the bike?” A small look of repentance mingled with a smile of excitement as he laughed, “Because Uncle does not want me to ride it!” “But you know it’s wrong to disobey, so why do you do it?” “Oh. Well, Uncle’s not God. He doesn’t know what I’m doing.” Chloe then stepped in, saying, “Well if I kill someone, but don’t tell anyone, have I still done a bad thing?!” Sheepishly, seeing where this was going, Laxuman said, “Yes, I guess so.” She continued, “So if you’re not supposed to ride the bike without asking Uncle, and you do, but he never finds out, have you still disobeyed him?” “But Sister!” Stepping in, I added “No buts Laxuman! I imagine the same reasons you choose to ride the bike helped lead Adam and Eve to sin.” With a sigh, he accepted the answer. I don’t know how deeply it sunk in; he surprised me with the depth of his free will question, but he is still a 14 year old boy, so I won’t be too surprised if tomorrow I hear the bike roar a few minutes after Uncle leaves :).