Would you Adam and Eve it?

 

There they were, Adam and Eve going around happily in the Garden of Eden totally naked and not worrying about anything, except perhaps getting too close to the cactus, or standing near a hot radiator or oven.

They were enjoying their nakedness when one day they met a snake!

Now I don't know about you, but if I were naked and met a snake I'd quickly cover up my bits in case he took a bite.  

If the snake actually talked to me ... well ... I'd probably poop in my non-existing pants rather than engage in conversation with him.

Anyway ... what I don't understand is, after they ate the forbidden fruit, how did Adam and Eve know which are the naughty bits they should cover?

Why not cover their knees for instance? Or their elbows?

Can you imagine? If they'd covered their knees instead; today we'd all be going around naked wearing our underpants down on our knees!

As you know, they did not in fact eat from an apple tree. Nowhere in the story does it say what tree it was. It could have been a mango tree, or figs, or a variety of other fruit trees. All it says is that it was a fruit tree.

What if it was a broccoli? The whole course of human history would have been different because I doubt they'd been tempted.

Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree and committed their first sin.

Now a lot of us consider this to be the sin of disobedience; which in fact it was. But this is not the most serious sin which they committed.

Their major sin was that they wanted to be like God. That's what the snake (devil) had fooled them into believing. They will be like God. They will know good from bad.

To some extent that's what happened. They got to know good from bad, right from wrong, and suffered the consequences.

I suspect that these days there are many who do not really know right from wrong; or choose not to care.

That's how Adam and Eve's story affects us in our lives.

How often do we also try to act like gods? And want things our way?

If only I could get that job, or that promotion at work, or get so and so to love me, or ... 

We just tell God what we want and expect Him to obey us. 

It's amazing how many people serve God in an advisory capacity. 

We just tell Him, what we want Him to do for us. Rather than trust Him to know better.

More Questions???

 

Have you ever seen the TV program "Naked and Afraid"?

It airs on the Discovery Channel. Each episode features two people (1 man; 1 woman) who meet for the first time and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness naked for 21 days.

They are usually left in the jungle to fend for themselves with no one there to help them except the TV crew with their cameras, sound recording equipment, lights engineer and I wonder who else. All you see on your screen is two naked people trying to light a fire, or catch something to eat, or find a place where to survive the elements; be they rain, wind, thunder, or scorching sun.

My first question is WHY?

Why are they naked? Surely the dangers would be the same whether they were clothed or not? The only additional danger I can think of by being naked is having sunburn on one's delicate parts. Or perhaps being bitten by a mosquito, wasp, snake or scorpion in a place you would rather not be bitten at? Not that it matters where a snake or scorpion would bite you.

As the program progresses we see the couple getting hungrier, more tired, desperate and getting on each others nerves or other parts of their anatomy.

It would be ironic, I think, if after the 21 days' ordeal the couple get out of the jungle alive and relatively well, whereas the film crew have been bitten by snakes and scorpions.

But then, that's my sense of humour!

Would you Adam and Eve it?

Once upon a time there was Adam. He was alone in Paradise but, to be honest, he was happy. Plenty of food to eat, plenty of walks in the sunshine, sleep when he wants, wake up when he wants. No chores or jobs to do; like taking out the trash, washing the dishes, painting the garden fence ... and all that. Just happiness.

God saw this and created woman ... Eve!

So for a while there was Adam and Eve living happily in the Garden of Eden (another word for Paradise). They had nothing to do except enjoy themselves walking naked all over the place. No troubles, no concerns and no worries, just like before - apart from watching out for the cactus plants and not getting too near them.

All was happiness and joy and bliss.

Then one day Eve asked Adam, "Do you love me?"

Adam looked around and said, "Who else is there? It's only me and you here."

Eve blushed and said coyly, "us ladies like to be re-assured every now and then."

Adam wondered why. A sentiment echoed by all men ever since.

I mean ... what is it with you ladies? Why do you want re-assurance all the time that we love you? We married you didn't we? And every so often we buy you chocolates, don't we? Especially when they are on offer at the supermarket. And we give you flowers when we fill up the car with petrol at the gas station. And don't we write nice things on your birthday cards, anniversary cards and all other occasions cards? Why don't you keep these cards and read them when you want re-assurance that we love you?

We men don't need such constant re-assurance. As long as there's a hot meal on the table we know all is OK.

Anyway, to get on with the story. In Adam's case there was no one else he could fancy instead of Eve. Despite the big hairy wart she had on her nose, Adam still loved her all the same.

There was no point him fantasising about glamourous sexy women like in Hollywood films because cinemas had not been invented yet.

So he told her that she was the only love in his life because there was no one else in the whole world to love as much as her.

"You know ..." she said, "there is someone else here?"

Fearing the worst, and wondering whether his hot dinners were assured, he asked tentatively, "Who else is there my sweet darling?"

"There's a beautiful big snake," she said, "I have seen him often. He is so sweet and speaks so softly. Have you not seen him?"

"A snake!!! If I had seen him I would have covered my bits in case he took a bite," said Adam covering his manhood, "not engage in conversation with him!"

Any how ... I am sure you know how the story ended. You can read all about it in Genesis 2. That's Genesis in the Bible, not Genesis the English rock band with Phil Collins.

Now the thing to remember in all this is that Adam and Eve's sin was not just a sin of disobedience. It was worse than that. It was a sin of rebellion. They wanted to be gods. The snake had told them if they ate the forbidden fruit they will not die; "when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”