Tuesday, August 20, 2013

THE 4 MISTAKES OF EVE



Here's some fun for the day.........

TRIVIA:
Which is heavier.  A baseball or a softball?

PHRASE FUN:  (what phrase is represented by the words below)

EEGVTABLES
EGVETABLES
GEEVTABLES
VEEGTABLES


JOKE:
Q:  What do you call potatoes that watch sports?
A:  Spec-taters.



QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Is it ok to use the A.M. radio after noon?



COMIC FUN:





TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
No matter what is going on in our lives, the victory is in refusing to quit.




THE FOUR MISTAKES OF EVE




I'm taking a look today at another Villain of the Bible.    We've looked at Judas and wasted opportunity.  (June post)  Last time it was Pontius Pilate and the tragedy of doing nothing.   How Pilate knew what the right thing to do was, but for selfish motives he took the easy way out.  (July post)   Well, we've looked at 2 dudes, so let's look at a chick.   How about the very first Villainess......Eve.   

I can see where some may think Eve isn't a Villain, but hey, life was perfect in the Garden of Eden.  Eve committed the first sin, so I think that at least gives her honorable mention.    

Scripture tells us that Adam and Eve were the first people on Earth.   Life was great and they had only one rule to follow and that was not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.   I won't go into the entire story, but it can be found in the book of Genesis in the Bible.    

Eve's got it great, right?  She's the only woman around.   She has no other woman to compare herself to so she's the top banana.   No mirrors to see crows feet and wrinkles.   Of course, since life was perfect, I'm sure her skin glowed and was flawless.
So Eve's hanging out in her perfect world and a serpent (Satan) starts speaking to her.   I'm thinking the other animals didn't speak, so this should have been a first 'hmmm, what's up with this' moment for her.    The serpent tries to talk Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil.





EVE'S FIRST MISTAKE

Having the conversation with the serpent in the first place.    

It's best not to engage in communication with Satan.   Granted, we don't have snakes talking to us these days, but we are often in situations where we start reasoning things in our heads that we know are wrong.    Might as well talk to a snake at that point, because it's the same thing.   Her first mistake was not walking away.   She engaged in the conversation.


Ok, so let's go further.   GENESIS 2: 16-17 says:    And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

First, let's look at God's command.  Was he being mean and picky?  Of course not.   Knowledge is good but it was the intimate detail of the ‘knowing’ of evil that was dangerous.   God was being a good and protective Father.   Protecting Adam and Eve's innocence from things they didn’t need to know.


So here's the next part.   Eve's having her chit chat with the serpent and he's telling her it would be no big whoop if she took a bite of fruit from the tree.  ( how ya' like my paraphrase?)   Look what Eve says in GENESIS 3:   The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,  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.’” 

Notice anything different????    She didn't get it quite right.  She added to it.  If you look at the original verse, God didn't say they couldn't touch it.   She added that part.   






EVE'S SECOND MISTAKE

She added to God's word because she didn't know it well.

One of the many advantages of knowing Scripture is that you can recall it quickly (and get it right) during times of difficulty or during tricky situations.  You have it as a 'go to guide'.   As far as adding to God's word.   How often do we do that?   How often do we distort Scripture to fit what we want it to mean.   How often do we take it out of context to use it in a way it wasn't intended to be used.   I know I've done that plenty of times.



Next we have 6 words in Scripture that changed the course of history.   "....she took some and ate it......."  ( from Genesis 3:6)   Well.....there ya' go.  The first sin.    






EVE'S THIRD MISTAKE:

She took action when she should have walked away

Eve could have just walked away.   Seems simple enough, but we all struggle with the ability to walk away in various situations.  Satan knows what we like and knows how to use it on us.   He's a crafty fella, so we have to be strong.  Often we aren't and that's what trips us up.   Certainly has tripped me up many a time.

In this same verse we see how Eve then gave some of the fruit to Adam.    Many times when we've done something wrong we don't like to be the only one, so we bring someone else along so it's not just us.    When Adam and Eve talk to God afterwards, neither one takes responsibility.    Eve told God what she did, but she blamed the serpent.   So.....





EVE'S FOURTH MISTAKE:

She played the blame game

How often do we make excuses to God?  We all sin, we all do things we shouldn't, but just be honest with God and tell Him.   It's not like He doesn't know.  He's God after all.  Don't blame someone else.  Be straight with God.

Ok, now Adam's not totally off the hook here either.    One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Adam's talk to God after the fruit issue.   Look at Genesis 3:12   The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Oh my word, is that not priceless?  Cracks me up every time.   Basically Adam is saying 'it's your fault God, you put that woman here".    Hey Adam.....blaming God is usually not a good route to go.


So there's a quick look at a few lessons from Eve, our first Villainess.    She's no Jezebel or Delilah, but hey......if she'd just walked away that day, we could all be living in perfect bliss.  I guess if we were in perfect bliss right now the wrinkles on my forehead would be gone.   On the plus side, my daughter sells Clinique and it works wonders on them.  (shameless plug)  Maybe I should thank Eve.  After all, thanks to her......my daughter has lots of customers.



TRIVIA ANSWER:
Softball

PHRASE FUN ANSWER:

Mixed Vegetables


Until next time...........

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