{"id":27450,"date":"2011-05-16T21:04:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-17T02:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=27450"},"modified":"2020-11-12T21:07:23","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T03:07:23","slug":"if-we-all-start-out-innocent-then-why-doesnt-everyone-make-good-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-all-start-out-innocent-then-why-doesnt-everyone-make-good-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"If we all start out innocent, then why doesn’t everyone make good choices?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

God makes all people the same, right?\u00a0 All people start out the same as a little baby, in innocence.\u00a0 So why is it that some people decide to follow God and some don’t?\u00a0 One might draw from that question that maybe it’s because God is pushing some people more than others to follow Him. But God doesn’t favor any person over another and He loves us all the same and wants us all to follow Him equally, so that’s not right.\u00a0 So is it the situations we’re in that push us toward Him?\u00a0 But then again, He’s the One that allows those situations to happen, so that’s in His hands too.\u00a0 So if everything is in His hands, then why doesn’t everyone follow after His will?\u00a0 I know you’re going to bring up all that stuff about free will again, but what I don’t understand is why is one person’s free will different from another’s?\u00a0 Is it the situations we’re in or the nature of who we are?\u00a0 But both of those are up to God, so how do they differ?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

All start out the same morally, but it doesn’t mean we are all the same in all aspects. “Truly, this only I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). We each have different circumstances and different talents. “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function<\/em>” (Romans 12:12).<\/p>\n

It is also true that God judges us impartially. God doesn’t fair the people by nationality, wealth, or gender. “For there is no partiality with God<\/em>” (Romans 2:11). In that unbiased view, God gave mankind a single law to follow and it is by that law we are all judged. “In the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel<\/em>” (Romans 2:16). So God doesn’t give one person a different set of requirements than another.<\/p>\n

It is because God gives men the freedom to choose that given similar circumstances, people will make different choices. Accumulate a lifetime of making different decisions and you find a variety of results among people.<\/p>\n

What draws people to God is their own desire for the truth. “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me<\/em>” (John 6:45). Take a look at\u00a0Perceptions of God’s Word<\/a>. God’s word and the lives we live reveal what kind of person we are deep inside. For those who love God, it is hard to see why everyone doesn’t have that same love, but everyone doesn’t make the same choices.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: God makes all people the same, right?\u00a0 All people start out the same as a little baby, in innocence.\u00a0 So why is it that some people decide to follow God and some don’t?\u00a0 One might draw from that question that maybe it’s because God is pushing some people more than others to follow Him.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[426,1196,113,354,179],"class_list":["post-27450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-free-will","tag-inherited-sins","tag-original-sin","tag-responsibility","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24819,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/free-will-and-the-power-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":27450,"position":0},"title":"Free Will and the Power of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A gentleman called me recently to discuss the idea of men having free will. He believed that if a person can choose his own destiny, then he is working against God's will. Therefore he believes that a concept of free will is at odds with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/rock-n-roll-monkey-FTfjMijq-Ws-unsplash-263x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19388,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happens-if-i-know-god-but-i-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":27450,"position":1},"title":"What happens if I know God, but I sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was doing a little research on sin to try and understand it a little better. 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He's obsessed with the fact that some people who did many good things in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47777,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-are-not-born-sinful-then-why-does-everyone-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":27450,"position":3},"title":"If we are not born sinful, then why does everyone sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, I'm a bit confused. It is possible to keep all of God's commandments, but I thought people will never be perfect on earth -- only God is perfect. Or does God demand perfection? But then we're not made right with God by our works. We are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95501,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-god-wants-everyone-saved-why-does-he-harden-some\/","url_meta":{"origin":27450,"position":4},"title":"If God wants everyone saved, why does He harden some?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Scripture says God wills all to be saved (I Timothy 2:4), yet Paul says that God hardens whom He wills, and that we are not to talk back to God or question why He hardens vessels of wrath such as Pharaoh (Romans 9:16-19) How can the two be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89624,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-need-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":27450,"position":5},"title":"Does God need us?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Someone asked me a question: \"If God needs us in heaven, why did He create us here on earth and not directly in heaven? 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