The First Sin

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6

Adam and Eve were living in an absolutely perfect setting called Eden. They had everything their hearts desired. The only thing forbidden was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

One day a spectacular visitor, the serpent, struck up a conversation with Eve. The serpent raised in Eve’s mind a question about the goodness of God: Why would God refuse her and Adam the privilege of anything in the Garden, especially something that obviously was the most desirable thing there? And then, an accusation: God refuses you this fruit because He knows it will make you equal to Him. So Eve was convinced, and she ate. Being generous by nature, she shared the fruit with her husband, and he ate. And that was the first sin.

The Bible, in its profound wisdom, portrays the first sin with a simple image. If it had described the sin as the violation of a specific commandment, we humans would ever after have thought that act to be the worst sin and probably the only one to worry about. But the writer of Genesis simply gave us a picture. The first sin was eating the forbidden fruit. Disbelief leading to disobedience is the essence of humanity’s sin.

Adam and Eve lacked faith in the goodness of God. The circumstances may have changed since those days in Paradise, but today, the temptation remains the same. The devil tempts us by causing us to doubt God’s goodness. He whispers in our ears, “If God really loved you, wouldn’t he want you to have fun?” Or, “God doesn’t really care about that little trifling sin, does He?”

Do you ever wonder why God hates sin so much? It’s because He knows how damaging it is. He does not wake up in the morning and rub His hands together in glee as He comes up with new rules and regulations to make you miserable. He loves you! He wants you to have the most joy possible. As Jesus put it, “I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” God wanted to keep Adam and Eve from the tree because they already knew goodness! The only thing they could learn from it was the knowledge of evil! He was trying to protect them.

As you pray today, watch carefully for areas of unbelief. Do not allow the subtle nuances of Satanic doubt to filter into your language. Do not use words that qualify your confession of sin. Do not limit your praise of God’s goodness. Cast yourself completely, recklessly into His arms, knowing that He cares for you.