Scripture Reading(s)
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
3:3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'”
3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die;
3:5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
3:6 So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Reflections
Every sin starts with a self-fulfilling desire. With Adam and Eve, original sin was created by desire created from Satan’s lie. They believed that they would become wise and they were drawn to the attractiveness of the fruit. But the tricks of the advisory have not changed in thousands of years. He lies and uses our desires against us.
As Christians we have to have a sound mind that is grounded in the Bible and a heart that chases after God and not our own desires. James, the brother of Jesus, spoke thusly about the nature of desire and sin:
Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:14-15)
While I would say that it is not bad to have desires, I would also suggest that we must not serve that desire. Man can only have one master.