Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The Floodgates of Sin
This brief exchange between God and man is so significant and so revealing. Significant because it's man's first confrontation with sin, and revealing because, despite this only being the first sin they ever committed and despite being perfect creatures only moments earlier, we get a glimpse at how the very nature of sin doesn't allow itself to be compartmentalized into mere moments of weakness, but opens entire floodgates (most of this post can be credited to Pastor Dan from his December 2007 sermon: The Consequences of Sin).
No Admittance:
There is absolutely no record of anything approaching any apology or remorse. No mention of Adam & Eve, upon being confronted with their sin by the very presence of God, throwing themselves down before God and begging for forgiveness, instead...
Shame:
"A painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety" (Merriam-Webster) Adam & Eve immediately conceal themselves from God.
Guilt:
"A feeling of culpability for offenses" (Merriam-Webster) This overwhelming feeling causes them to descend even lower through the use of sidestepping and half-truths. Adam can't even answer God's direct yes/no question of whether or not he's eaten the fruit in a straightforward answer, instead...
Depravity:
"Marked by corruption or evil" (Merriam-Webster) Adam doesn't merely avoid answering God's direction question, but deflects it by blaming Eve ("the woman...") and even almighty God himself! ("whom You gave to be with me").
In the space of only five verses, Adam & Eve, the once perfect creatures, have experienced a multitude of consequences from their one sin, and all this is before God has even pronounced any sort of judgment on them.
This post isn't meant to be overly judgmental of Adam & Eve - I find it rather comforting actually that they react the same sinful way as anyone else would. Instead, I find it to be an insightful look at how invasive sin can be below the surface and it serves as a cautionary passage on how I must be vigilant about any and all sins, not simply the "major" ones I feel I need to work on, but even the seemingly smaller and insignificant ones, the white lies, my hatred for that one guy etc. The sins I like to think are isolated from the rest of me but for all I know could be setting themselves up a permanent place in my life.
(back to Genesis 3)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The thing that got me, and you note it in your post is that they experienced all of those consequences of sin before God judged them. People assume that these hurtful consequences are direct acts of God's judgement, but in reality, these consequences are simply the natural result of our sin. Sin separates us from God. Sin condemns us. Sin blinds us. Sin ruins our relationships. Sin destroys. This actually solves a question that many Christians have raised. A Christian will not face God's condemnation at all over their sin (Romans 8:1). Does this mean that it is ok for a Christian to sin? I suppose it is if you want to destroy your life, ruin your relationships, be racked by guilt, and marred by shame. If that sounds attractive to you, go right ahead. Because even if you do not face God's condemnation, you will have to accept all of the negative consequences of your sin. Do you really want to live like that?
Post a Comment