“…you will be like God…”
Genesis 3:5
Eve was lured away by the temptation to be like God. Pride. Nothing new under the sun. It is the same temptation that lures us in today and persuades us to doubt God’s Word. We want to be the boss, to call the shots, to control our own destiny.
Eve liked the idea of being like God. The scheming words of the serpent prompted her to take a second look at the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:6a says she saw that the fruit was “good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom.”
And then she ate the fruit.
The second look led Eve to take the first bite and to commit the first sin. Just like today, all sin begins in our mind. We think about it, rationalize it, and then plunge ahead. To coin a phrase from Neil Armstrong, that was “one small bite for woman, but one huge swallow of sin for all mankind.”
Sin both then and now ripples out to affect those around us. Eve gave the fruit to her husband and he also ate it. She drags him down with her! Our sin affects others. What sin are you and I choosing to walk in? What example are we setting for our children? If our kids grow up and make the same sinful choices, choose the same sinful lifestyle, will we be surprised? Disappointed? Our example is the equivalent of handing our kids the fruit. Here – eat this!
Temptation led to sin. But temptation is not sin. Even Jesus was tempted. God always provides a way out:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
I Corinthians 10:13
Lord, light up the exit sign – show me the way of escape when I face temptation.
