Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping? Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie? Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?

Remember with me the story of Adam and Eve. We often look at the biblical account of sin entering the world through two easily duped and foolish humans. Then, we shake our heads and complain about how all they had to do was not eat that fruit. But, there was much more going on then merely getting their "hands caught in the fruit tree".

So, Adam and Eve are chillin in the garden, especially on cold days because they didn't have clothes. Along comes Satan. It's important to note that the tree they weren't supposed to eat from had a name; "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil", and the penalty for tasting was death. This was no ordinary tree. When Satan comes on the scene scripture says he's in serpent form, and he's crafty. He doesn't challenge whether they are supposed to eat from the tree or not, he challenges God's word. Satan asks Eve if she really heard God say they couldn't eat from the tree. He began's to bring doubts into Eve's mind about the reliability and authority of God's voice.

Then Satan tells Eve that the whole death penalty thing is untrue. The Message puts Satan's speech this way; " God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." (Gen. 3:4-5) Hook, line, and sinker Eve takes the twisted reasoning from Satan. Genesis 3 goes on to say that not only did she see the fruit desirable as food but as a way to gain wisdom for herself. Adam was there and he, in typical guy fashion, agreed with his woman. Immediately, it says their eyes were opened and they saw themselves for who they really were.

Adam and Eve believed the lie that God doesn't always know what He is talking about. They traded the word of God for their opinions. It was the fall of their innocence and the begging of all mankind's struggle. Passed on from generation to generation is the lie that God has some good opinions, and some good truth, but ours are better. We take liberty with asserting our desires and agendas above the truth of God. This was the original fall of Satan and the sin of Adam and Eve.

Stop for a minute and take your garden pulse. Are you listening to the crafty voice of relativism and doubting that God is the final authority on truth? Are you living as though God is merely full of good opinions but not absolute truth? Are you trusting in your own ability to reason and chose what you think is right?

When you think about it, it isn't strange when we find it difficult to give God more then we spend on ourselves, spend more time with Him then we do on entertainment, or trust the words of men over God's. It isn't strange because we like Adam and Eve still find it hard to live fully dependent and obedient to the word of God.

"Those who trust their own insight are foolish" (Prov. 28:26a) NLT

"All wisdom comes from the LORD, and so do common sense and understanding." (Prov. 2:6) CEV

- Josh