The Fall; Daily Decision Making

Genesis 3:1-13- “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LordGod among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

That is all it took…

One decision and mankind fell… Hard. No one was to blame besides mankind. However, as humans, we naturally want to place blame or give reasoning to our disobedience. That is our flesh. That is why it is so important to be Spirit led.

The serpent is still alive today. He whispers things in our ears and tells us lies. He says, “It will be ok this one time… It won’t be found out… They didn’t really mean that when they said that… You deserve it, which is why they don’t want you to have it…”

The woman Eve was quick to cry out as a victim! “The serpent deceived me…” Yes Eve that was the case, but you my dear… you made the decision to believe the lies. You made the decision to eat the fruit… Surely the serpent wasn’t holding a gun to Eve’s head, forcing her to eat from the tree she was clearly told to avoid. (I don’t even know how a snake would hold a gun… Guns weren’t even made yet… That is beside the point). I would even consider being more sympathetic if the serpent had been coiled around her neck, threatening her life. But the serpent was not.

Adam played victim too. He blamed Eve. “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Yes Adam, she did give you the fruit. She didn’t force feed it to you though…

The serpent’s whispers come in many forms… Peer pressure, guilt, shame, negative experiences, past mistakes… The serpent tells you lies to keep you on the ground, on your belly, like him… If you decide to believe the lies.

Everything in life is a decision. You can change your life with one decision… Mankind fell because of one decision. So quick, just like the blink of an eye, a decision is made. A world is changed. An innocence is lost… A person is hurt… a marriage is broken… In a split second, the devil gets a foothold…

Thankfully we serve a forgiving, merciful, and patient God. Many times we fall into Satan’s traps, set up to drag us down. That is why it is so important for us to defend against his schemes. As my friend Jason tells me, “We wake up saved, but we don’t wake up walking in the Spirit”; so true. That is why we need to spend time with God first thing and all throughout our day. This prepares us and equips us spiritually to defend ourselves against a fallen and broken world, full of temptation.

Be mindful of the two things that help me get through the day;

Before making a decision, say a quick prayer and ask yourself, “Would this be something Jesus would do… Does this please God?”

And treat everyone as if they were Jesus.

This does not usually come naturally because of our flesh, however if you practice and make it a habit, it really helps your days go smoother and protects you from Satan’s games and tricks.

Remember… Our heavenly Father loves us and wants what is best for us. Fix your eyes on Him. 

[ The Armor of God ] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV