OT Reading: Genesis 3-5
NT Reading: Matthew 2
"'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"
Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV)
According to the definition I just made up while sitting at my desk, the word "trueish" is defined as "A lie wrapped up in just enough truth that it becomes a lot easier to accept."
Consider the following statements:
- It's not like you're hurting anyone.
- God wants you to be happy.
- You deserve it.
Sound familiar? Probably, because these are the sorts of statements that usually come to mind when we're considering doing things our way instead of God's way. And they're all trueish. I mean, God does want me to be happy (though that's not His primary concern...more on that another time). I may not be hurting anyone (at least...not right this moment). And I may feel like I deserve it (of course I'm the only one determining whether I really do or not).
Today's reading shows us that this is exactly how Satan came to Eve...with some trueish claims. Satan said that Eve wouldn't die, and she didn't...at least, not immediately. Satan told Eve that she would be more like God, knowing good and evil, and she did...though Satan didn't mention what she'd be losing with her disobedience. The fact is, Satan loves to use trueish statements in an effort to get any one of us to take a bite (we'll see this again in a couple days when we read Matthew 4).
Funny isn't it? How so often we replace the Truth (see John 14:6) with trueish. So before we get too critical of Adam and Eve why don't we ask ourselves, what have we been wholeheartedly beleiving that's really only trueish?
*To give credit where it's due, I first heard the phrase "trueish" from Lifechurch.tv who did a sermon series by this title.
In genesis 3:1-2,God created man in His likeness both male and female."They" shall rule over animals and so on. He started usin plural words before He created Adam. Did "man" really mean "mankind"?and also I thought that I was doing everything i needed to do to be a christian.Boy was i wrong.Thats wat i wholeheartedly believed first few months being a christian!! I have learned a lot!!!
ReplyDeleteMarilyn,
ReplyDeleteYou're right. In Genesis 1 we're given more of an overview of all creation, then in Genesis 2 we see a more "zoomed in" view of God's creation of man. So the first time it's mentioned (Genesis 1:26 if I'm looking correctly), the term "man" is a more general "mankind".