Today's Scripture Reading (August 4, 2024): Genesis 3
Adam and Eve
sinned, and everything changed. Our contemporary culture is still struggling
with that change. Many years ago, I read a report on a meeting at a major American
university. According to the report, the meeting included a group of
influential women who had gathered together to celebrate Eve, who they argued
made the first independent action of the human race by choosing what God had
forbidden. It's too bad the race's first action was one of rebellion against
what was best for all of us.
Men have been
echoing the same sentiment down through the generations. The male of the
species has chosen to take the events of the Garden of Eden and shift the
blame. It wasn't Adam, it was Eve. Every male human who believes that the man
is the head of the house and that we should be the ones who set the pace should
listen intently to the message of Genesis 3. Not only were we not the ones who
set the pace, but we were willing to follow and then pass the blame on to
someone else. Nothing has changed.
On that day,
when Adam and Eve chose not to follow the commands of God, our world changed.
We had to work to put food on the table. Pain became part of the human
experience. And death entered the world in so many ways. All because of the sin
of our first parents. However, death might be the most significant change.
The author of
Hebrews tells us that we "are
destined to die once, and after that to face judgment"
(Hebrews 9:27). And I get what Hebrews is trying to tell us. But death
is much more than just something that happens at the end of our existence on
this earth. Ernest Hemingway, in "A Farewell to Arms," wrote that "Cowards die a thousand deaths,
but the brave only die
once" (Ernest Hemingway). The quote works well in the Hemingway novel but
fails in real life. We all die multiple times throughout our lives. We die with
every sin that we commit. We die because of the sins committed by others. Sometimes,
our sins color the entire length of our lives, and we wish we could go back and
choose to do something different. I am sure Adam and Eve wished they could have
a do-over in the Garden.
We have learned how to handle the sin that is handed down from
our first parents. We pass the buck and share the responsibility with others.
It is not my fault; it is their fault. And even then, that attitude only
furthers our sin and our death.
There is a "Big
Bang Theory" episode where Leonard and Sheldon both receive a present from
Penny; it is a Star Trek transporter toy featuring Mr. Spock. The toy is "Mint
in Box." Penny wonders why they won't open it, but of course, if they open
the toy, it wouldn't be "Mint in Box." One night, Mr. Spock cries out
from the box, saying he wants Sheldon to play with the transporter. So, Sheldon
plays with the transporter and ends up breaking it. Then he switches it with
Leonard's; after all, he won't open his box, so he will never know that the toy
is broken. However, Leonard opens his box and discovers the broken toy, and
Sheldon has to admit the absolute truth: Mr. Spock made him do it. Even in our
fiction, it is never our fault.
At the moment
of the original sin, Adam and Eve couldn't stand there like adults, naked and
ashamed of their actions. Instead, they wanted to hide and deny what they had
done. They couldn't be adults and just say, "I did it. I don't need to
point my finger at anyone else. I know who is to blame: me. I broke it. God
created something very good, and I broke it." They passed the blame along
to someone else.
Creation changed, but, in our opinion, we don't believe that
it is our fault. We blame everyone else, including the giver of the gift that
we call life, God. What we don't like about life is always someone else's
fault; it is never because of me. And as long as that is our reality, we will
continue to die. And we will continue to be haunted by a changed creation.
Tomorrow's Scripture
Reading: Genesis 4
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