Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:6 HCSB

Sin affects our senses. We only engage in it because it sounds good, looks good and perhaps even tastes good.

Yesterday we talked about how God gave Adam and Eve one simple rule to follow-don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Ten Commandments had not been given at this point, there was no need. At this time there was no sin. We are witnessing the first sin to ever creep into the existence of this new creation or our universe. It is believed that Adam and Eve sinned very soon after their creation, perhaps within a week or two. It didn’t take long. It never does.

It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback this whole situation, but if we do this we can also see where we mess up and hopefully mess up a lot less. So, let’s start with the serpent. We are told in verse 1 that he was the most cunning of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. But, back in Genesis 2:19-20 God allowed Adam to name the animals. In Genesis 1:28, God gives Adam and Eve some instructions. He tells them to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. He gives them dominion or rule over all that He has created. This means the serpent too, right? Because in Genesis 1:28, God tells them, “…Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” But they allowed the serpent to get over on them.

Now we all know that the serpent was the devil, so we could say Adam and Eve couldn’t help it because they were going against the devil, himself. But think about it. They had been created and formed by God. God had talked with them personally. He was there for them. He placed them in this beautiful garden with plenty of food. He had taken really good care of them. Why didn’t they cry out to God? Why didn’t they ask Him why this serpent was lying to them? Why didn’t they ask Him if He really meant that they couldn’t eat from that tree? If only they’d prayed.

I answer that question with a question, why don’t we? We too are created and formed by God. He is there for us. I can tell you that every time I have willfully sinned in my life, I should have prayed. But, I didn’t. Why didn’t I? Well, probably for the same reasons Adam and Eve didn’t cry out to God. What was being offered sounded like a good deal. It looked appealing. And in the case of food that is bad for me, well it tasted really good. I didn’t pray because the sin was appealing, it was enticing. I wanted to commit the sin. I knew if I prayed that God would provide a way out. He would strengthen me if I only asked Him to.

We don’t sin because it looks and smells and tastes awful. We sin because it is very appealing. It doesn’t begin to stink and turn ugly until we are trapped in it. Even then, it is still sometimes hard to let it go.

My favorite line I hear people use is, “It just happened.” Well, my friend that’s a lie. Sin follows a progression. It starts innocently enough but then there is more flirtation or more enticement or more whatever it takes to get us to agree to it. The reason we fall head first into the pit of sin is that we don’t pray. Then once we are deep in sin, our prayers aren’t being heard because our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) so it’s a vicious cycle. I believe that God hears our cry when we are ready to be pulled out of that pit, but He doesn’t hear our other prayers for other things because our habitual unrepentant sin creates that barrier.

I’ve often heard it said that sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay and cost you more than you wanted to pay.  Sin is very costly, but the worst part of it is that if we continue in it, it costs us our relationship with our Lord and Savior. Romans 1:24 tells us that if we continue sinning and refuse to repent that God will eventually give us over to our sin.

Being in constant communication with Jesus is so important. We need Him every second of every day. Just imagine if instead of eating that fruit, Adam and Eve had prayed.

Have a great day!