Have
you ever heard from a third person that someone is talking about you,
and you immediately want to know who it is and what exactly they were
saying about you?
I know that I have been there. Unfortunately, after I learned the information I wanted I was more times than not devastated by what was said and allowed it to consume my mind.Honestly, I really did not need to know the intimate details of what others were saying about me. As they say ignorance can be bliss, yet I still wanted to be aware of everything. You can say I wanted to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
I am currently reading a book where the author gave an example of a friend who believed that God told her (the friend) and her fiancé to go separate ways. Of course this was a very hard and trying time for her friend, but she really believed that this was God's will and best for the both of them.She did complain to the author that while she was in the relationship it always bothered her how her fiance looked at other women, but whenever she brought the issue up it did not go anywhere.
After they broke up she had an urge to check his email to learn more about his private life. She broke into his email account and learned that he had been talking to other ladies for some time, even during the time they were together. This of course made her upset, but what really got to her over time is that she became obsessed with constantly checking his email. She would read all of her ex's correspondence between other ladies. Reading the emails ate her up inside. She wanted to stop but she couldn't. She sought out to look for information that she was not equipped to handle. She ate the forbidden fruit and gained knowledge that she was never supposed to be aware of aka "the knowledge of good and evil".
It seems that most humans always want to be informed about everything to the minutest detail. From everything like global events, social events, who is talking about who, and so on.
In Genesis 2:16 and 17 the Bible says
" And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."
Genesis is the first book in the Bible and the aforementioned verses are a short excerpt of the story of Adam and Eve, the first people that God created. In the verse God was commanding Adam about some of the rules of living in paradise on earth. God told Adam everything he could do and the one thing he could not do-- with an explanation. If Adam did what he was not supposed to do "he would certainly die". Long story short the devil, in serpent form, came to Eve and convinced Eve that God did not really mean what HE said and so Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Then she gave some to Adam her husband, who also ate it. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit they realized that they were naked, and for the first time in their lives they were ashamed. They ran from God. Because of their disobedience they were eventually kicked out of the garden of Eden.
Before this time, Adam and Eve had no concept of what shame was. They had no idea what it was like to be self-conscious of themselves, especially in a negative sense. God's original intent for us as humans, HIS creation, was not to be necessarily aware of the way we ourselves or others see us but rather be solely secure on how HE views us. As humans we think that being aware of everything around us will give us full security, but obviously the moral of Adam and Eve's story is that full security is only found in trusting God.
As much as we would like to believe that we are powerful, no matter how strong you are or think you are, we as humans are not equipped and built to know all things. God is the only ONE who can handle everything, and though the information may be available to us (like the tree was in the garden of Eden), it is best when we choose to obey God's Word (Holy Spirit led) and not eat the fruit.
God, I pray that YOU will give us direction and discretion not to acquire all of the knowledge that is available to us. Help us to seek YOUR Face before we take in information, give us discernment about what we do or do not need to know. And when YOU tell us NO, we do not need to know certain things, may we trust YOU. Because in trusting You is when we can have full security. Amen
I know that I have been there. Unfortunately, after I learned the information I wanted I was more times than not devastated by what was said and allowed it to consume my mind.Honestly, I really did not need to know the intimate details of what others were saying about me. As they say ignorance can be bliss, yet I still wanted to be aware of everything. You can say I wanted to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
I am currently reading a book where the author gave an example of a friend who believed that God told her (the friend) and her fiancé to go separate ways. Of course this was a very hard and trying time for her friend, but she really believed that this was God's will and best for the both of them.She did complain to the author that while she was in the relationship it always bothered her how her fiance looked at other women, but whenever she brought the issue up it did not go anywhere.
After they broke up she had an urge to check his email to learn more about his private life. She broke into his email account and learned that he had been talking to other ladies for some time, even during the time they were together. This of course made her upset, but what really got to her over time is that she became obsessed with constantly checking his email. She would read all of her ex's correspondence between other ladies. Reading the emails ate her up inside. She wanted to stop but she couldn't. She sought out to look for information that she was not equipped to handle. She ate the forbidden fruit and gained knowledge that she was never supposed to be aware of aka "the knowledge of good and evil".
It seems that most humans always want to be informed about everything to the minutest detail. From everything like global events, social events, who is talking about who, and so on.
In Genesis 2:16 and 17 the Bible says
" And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."
Genesis is the first book in the Bible and the aforementioned verses are a short excerpt of the story of Adam and Eve, the first people that God created. In the verse God was commanding Adam about some of the rules of living in paradise on earth. God told Adam everything he could do and the one thing he could not do-- with an explanation. If Adam did what he was not supposed to do "he would certainly die". Long story short the devil, in serpent form, came to Eve and convinced Eve that God did not really mean what HE said and so Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Then she gave some to Adam her husband, who also ate it. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit they realized that they were naked, and for the first time in their lives they were ashamed. They ran from God. Because of their disobedience they were eventually kicked out of the garden of Eden.
Before this time, Adam and Eve had no concept of what shame was. They had no idea what it was like to be self-conscious of themselves, especially in a negative sense. God's original intent for us as humans, HIS creation, was not to be necessarily aware of the way we ourselves or others see us but rather be solely secure on how HE views us. As humans we think that being aware of everything around us will give us full security, but obviously the moral of Adam and Eve's story is that full security is only found in trusting God.
As much as we would like to believe that we are powerful, no matter how strong you are or think you are, we as humans are not equipped and built to know all things. God is the only ONE who can handle everything, and though the information may be available to us (like the tree was in the garden of Eden), it is best when we choose to obey God's Word (Holy Spirit led) and not eat the fruit.
God, I pray that YOU will give us direction and discretion not to acquire all of the knowledge that is available to us. Help us to seek YOUR Face before we take in information, give us discernment about what we do or do not need to know. And when YOU tell us NO, we do not need to know certain things, may we trust YOU. Because in trusting You is when we can have full security. Amen
