Mostly True!
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Full Truth
Full Truth
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
I’ve never understood this. The real problem I see in this first conversation is something intersting and actually speaks to the intense freedom we have as human beings.
From the beginning God gave humanity the power of choice.
Choices are influenced by all sorts of things.
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A touch of truth.
A touch of truth.
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The best way to manipulate someone is to tell them a bit of what they know and add a bit of what you want them to know.
If we look at what the serpent does he uses a touch of truth to hide the lie, he puts a question into Eve’s mind that she knows isn’t true but now she’s thinking about it. Now suddenly God has become the mean parent that doesn't want you to have any fun.
Starting out strong!
Starting out strong!
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.
But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
We don’t mean to slip. No one sets out to fall. No one sets out to fail. We start out not only knowing what’s right, but trying to do what’s right, and when the first suggesting fails there’s always another one that ups the stakes.
The Lie Deepens!
The Lie Deepens!
“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.
At this point in the conversation the serpent has thrown all truth out the window, but he already has eve on the hook and he follows up with a “good” lie.
Lying to ourselves.
Lying to ourselves.
The serpent offers a good thing, arguably a thing that will make service and doing the right thing easier.
“In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
There are a few half truths in here. Remember what we talked about last week. Lets look at it.
So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.
There are a few half truths in here. Remember what we talked about last week. Lets look at it.
We were created in the image and likeness of God, and while we will never be God Adam and Eve were already Like God. What the serpent is offering here is not being “like” God what he is telling Eve is you will be a god. As if the only thing that makes God different is knowing right from wrong. We know better. We understand that God is more than knowing right from wrong. Eve has gone into some self justification.
Good does not mean right!
Good does not mean right!
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.
Why we fail!
Why we fail!
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
This Weeks Challenge
This Weeks Challenge
Take stock. How much are you self justifying your actions, how many half truths have you embraced? Write them down on PAPER. Talk to God about them, make sure you listen then on Saturday afternoon burn the paper and ask God to help you lean into the full truth of what God has.
