So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)

For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16)

We concluded last week that wisdom is using what we know to make good choices. That sounded pretty good, but after more thought, maybe we need to elaborate. Maybe we need to analyze what went wrong when Eve made her fateful decision.

What did Eve know? Here’s the scripture that will give us some insight, from Genesis 3:1-6 –

¹The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

We know from verse 2 that Adam had passed along the instruction that he had received in Chapter 2 when he was given stewardship over the garden. Eve knew that God had said they were not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. We don’t know if Adam had added the part about touching it or if Eve embellished, but it really doesn’t matter. She clearly knew that she was not supposed to eat that fruit.

Knowing that she was not supposed to eat the fruit, she listened to the serpent who told her what she wanted to hear, and she was convinced. She did not ask God, she did not consult with Adam, who was right there with her. She looked at the fruit, rationalized that it was beautiful and looked delicious, and she ate it. I doubt if she knew the serpent was evil when he started talking to her. But he contradicted God, and that is should have been the first clue. She heard what she wanted to hear and impulsively made a terrible decision without considering the consequences.

• Good decision-making involves knowing God’s Word, and refusing to respond favorably to temptation from anyone or anything that contradicts God’s Word.
• Good decision-making is guarding our senses (our eyes, ears, taste, touch) from anything or anyone that God’s Word tells us is harmful.
• Good decision-making is guarding our hearts from evil desires, lust, and covetousness.
• Good decision-making includes consulting a trusted advisor(s) before going forward.
• Good decision-making includes taking the consequences into account, thinking through the repercussions.
• Good decision-making is including God in the process. If we are walking with God, the Holy Spirit will convict us of wrong-thinking/wrong-doing and point us in the right direction.

If Eve had exercised good decision-making at any point along the way, she could have avoided so much shame, pain, and heartache. But she didn’t. And she did suffer consequences, dreadful consequences, including death of one son and exile of another, and physical death for herself and all mankind. Worst of all, she and Adam suffered separation from the intimate relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. However, we also know that God covered their shame by providing the skins from the sacrifice of an animal. I can’t image how grieved He must have been and continues to be when we continue to make unwise decisions, but praise be to God for his mercy and grace in that He continues to rescue us from spiritual death by covering us with the blood of Jesus.

In Christ,

Judy