Lately, I've been thinking about women of the Bible. During my latest study, I took a look at Eve's life. More accurately, I looked at how Eve screwed up. And as I've pondered Eve's missteps, I'm mad and sad and ashamed at the whole scenario. Why am I mad and sad and ashamed? One reason. I'm having trouble learning from Eve's mistakes.
We all know the story and it's components: God, Adam and Eve, the Garden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (specifically one piece of fruit), and the Serpent. God gives instruction. Serpent tempts Eve to disobey instruction. Eve chooses to listen to the serpent and disobey God. Eve persuades Adam to disobey God's instruction. God banished the Two from the Garden of Eden, and humanity is cursed because of their decision.
I've probably read this story ten times in the past two weeks. And each time I read it I think, "Come on, Eve! How hard is it to follow one simple instruction?!?" I mean, really. It's not like God gave the Couple a hundred rules to follow. He didn't even give them ten rules to follow (The Ten Commandments come a little later). He gave them one rule. One. Don't eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That's it. He even gave them an awfully good reason: If they ate of the Tree, they'd die. Plain and simple, right? Wrong.
Women never make things that simple. We over-complicate things. We create drama. We analyze and nitpick. We allow our emotions to overrule our brains. Eve is a prime example of this. She ignores God's plain instruction, listening to the worst advise EVER. Because this horrible advise appeals to her flesh, she takes it. Then she panics when she realizes she majorly messed up. I'm sure she batted her eyelashes, shed a few tears, and presented a (seemingly) logical reason to persuade Adam to participate in sin with her. Whatever she did, it worked. Adam listened to Eve and ate of the fruit, too.
When God finally reprimands Adam, it's because he "listened to the words of his wife (and ate of the Tree)." Ouch. Direct blow from the Master. Because of Eve's choice to disobey, we as a human race were banished from the presence of God Himself.
I, as a woman, should learn something from this. God so often gives me very simple instructions. But I, like Eve, complicate things, and analyze them, and allow emotion to get in the way of God's perfect justice. I forget that Eve, even though she is the Mother of all humanity, messed up. She was created to help Adam. Instead, she sabotaged their perfect life on a perfect Earth. I know that sin would have entered the picture sometime. Someone would have eventually fallen into temptation. But this is the first temptation ever mentioned, and Eve falls into the Serpent's scheme. The first time she was enticed, she gave in.
I want to be stronger than that. I don't want to make a choice that harms me, and my husband, and every generation after me. I don't want to let my emotions get in the way of God's perfect plan for me. I want to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that I'm not hungry for a measly piece of fruit, no matter how beautiful and delicious it seems.
Maybe, just for good measure, I'll read the story one more time. Then, just maybe, I'll learn.
