What Happened to Us in Eden? - Psychology of the FallSample

THE DANGER OF LISTENING TO THE WRONG VOICE

The beginning of the end starts with a dark voice and a dangerous conversation. It set in motion the very process James so powerfully describes in the first chapter of his letter: from temptation to desire, from desire to sin, and from sin to death. Sobering.

Some have suggested that the presence of the serpent was a kind of “trap” set by God to tempt the man and woman. But the passage we just read makes it clear that this cannot be the case. That’s the reality of creating beings with free will—whether Satan, or man, or woman. They can use that freedom for evil if their desires are placed above The Voice.

Good for food, pleasing to the eye, desirable for gaining wisdom… The woman let those thoughts take root in her mind and heart. With the help of a well-crafted and persuasive speech, desire grew—until finally it overpowered her, leading to death.

But let’s not be too quick to criticize her. We all do the same, and that’s why we are all guilty when we sin. Temptation itself is not sin (even Jesus was tempted in every way, as Hebrews reminds us, yet without sin). Sin is giving in to temptation. And with every temptation, God promises that there is always a way out.

If you’ve ever wondered what might have happened in Eden—and with us—if they had resisted that conversation and everything that came with it, I invite you to read Psalm 81:11–16 with me. The voice there is The Voice—the one the first woman and man chose to ignore, chasing after darker ones instead.

That was their true sin in disobedience. Had they submitted to God and resisted Satan’s voice, as James says again, the enemy would have fled. “In an instant I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.”

If only it had happened that way.