Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Genesis 3:17, “Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it” : Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.'”

Background

My wife is much better than me at reading people. When she talks with someone, she is much more intuitive than I am as to what is really going on and how that person is truly feeling. I, on the other hand, interpret people much more directly. I tend to take people at face value for what they say, trying not to read anything more into their words than what I heard. Together, she and I make a pretty good team. She helps me understand what might be lying just below the surface of what people share, and I rein her in when her imagination and suppositions start to get away with her. We also have this joke for when we are driving somewhere that whenever I listen to her suggestions about which way to go or where to turn, it ends up being a mistake. For some reason, when I go against my gut feeling and heed her directions, more often than not we end up worse off than where we were. And it has nothing to do with the amazing magnetic north that may be part of the make-up of my gut. It’s more of a funny quirk that shows itself when I’m unsure of what to do.

Application

I don’t think that Adam was unsure of what to do when the serpent started spinning his web of lies around him and Eve. I don’t think he deferred to her because she was more intuitive and could grasp the real issues behind the command of God and the serpent’s interpretation. I think Adam knew perfectly well what he should have done once his wife gave listen to the cunning tempter. But he didn’t do it. God punished the serpent because of what he did. He lived out his character and lied to Eve. God punished Adam because he listened to his wife. But God doesn’t give a reason as to why he punished Eve. That’s because even though she sinned, she was supposed to be under Adam’s watch. He knew his role, and he chose to relinquish it. Maybe because doing nothing was easier. That’s a popular excuse for our negligence, isn’t it? We’d be wise to step up and fulfill the roles that God has called each of us to fulfill. It’s not about what’s easiest.

Charge

As we seek Him today, ask God to forgive you for relinquishing what He called you to do. Ask Him for the grace to enable you to be who He has called you to be.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words