Pride

Genesis 2:6-7
6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 

Pride. Eve thought she knew better than God what was good for her! So,  she ate from the tree,  and so did Adam. How crazy! Who actually thinks they know more, or better, than an all-knowing, all-powerful, omni-present, God! Right?

Eve had everything! She had a great place to live, apparently a painless childbirth, she and her husband worked but apparently he did not work by "toiling."  I would like to have enjoyed painless childbirth, and I am sure my husband would enjoy not toiling when he fixes a fence or does repairs on the house. 

So, basically,  Adam and Eve lived like a king and a queen. All they had to do was follow one rule. Don't eat from the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden. One rule? Really? I wish all I had to do was follow one rule! I have to get up by an alarm, get to work on time, obey the traffic laws on my way, obey the rules at work...you get my point.  Wouldn't ONE rule be nice?  

What were Adam and Eve thinking? They ruined a really good thing!  Not to mention the Almighty God, the creator and maker of heaven and earth, walked and talked with them in the coolness of the morning in the garden. Wow! Who would be crazy enough to give that up by eating one piece of fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden?!!!

But, they did! Their pride (enticed by the devil) caused them to sin. God warned them there would be consequences, but they still ate the fruit. So, here we are now, in a fallen world because they ate the fruit! Rules, toiling, pain! Seems unfair, but the choice was made long ago, and now we must live with it. Right? 

Only one problem with that thought. We still make choices every minute of every day...we make choices to do what is right or wrong every single minute.  Did we follow all the traffic laws or did we maybe roll on through that stop sign...just this once? Did we follow the rules at work or did we daydream or gossip a little?  Did we snooze a little too much this morning and arrive somewhere just a minute or two late?  Did we take some work time to do a few personal things at work (or work during personal time) that we should have waited to do on our own time (or at work)? If so, we have sinned just as Eve and Adam sinned. You don't think so? Read on...

To Him every sin is horrible and He warns that every transgression and disobedience will receive a just recompense of reward. (Heb. 2:2)

Pride causes us to think "just this once won't hurt anything" right? Wrong!  Once is just that...once! Not never...but once...we did it. We can't deny it.  Our pride,  the devil's own machination, causes us to do things we KNOW we should not do, but we do them anyway.  Our pride tells us we want this, so why not have it? 

What is wrong with a little daydreaming or a little tardiness, or a little gossip?  Our maker, God, says to be holy and follow the rules He has made for us. I Peter 1:6 says "Be holy  for I am holy. " When we do little, or big, sins, we are not holy. When we believe we know better than God; that is called pride, and pride is sin! 

God is holy. He cannot accept sin. Uh oh! Where does that leave us? That leaves us with Jesus Christ! If we believe in Christ, He will clear all our sin away, so God can walk with us and talk with us as if we are pure and sinless, and we can talk to Him, just as Adam and Eve once did. 

We need to stop being so prideful as to think we know better than God,  and we need to start doing only what is right.  We can learn what is right by studying the Bible regularly to keep His thoughts in our mind.  We can do this by praying without ceasing. Talk to God all day. Ask Him to help you through difficult or seemingly easy situations.  You will be amazed at how much better your day will be as compared to following your pride and doing things in your own way without consulting God.

Even though we are sinners,  we still get to walk with God.  We can pray, talk, to Him any time day or night, anywhere. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and now sits at the right hand of God intervening for us as we pray. So, pray! Pray, so you won't sin!