Original Sinners

The story of Adam and Eve in the garden is one of mythic proportions. It is a story referred to by many in a variety of forms, and is known both within the church and is part of the collective conscience of our culture. The story of Eden is also tremendously misunderstood, misread (if it is actually read at all), and misapplied. Fundamentally, the story is not about Eve tempting Adam (and by extension how women are inherently wicked and sinful--how some have used this scripture) it is not about the satanic serpent who seduces the otherwise righteous Adam and Eve, and I don't believe it is a story of God entrapping humanity. Rather, Genesis 3 is a powerful story about sin, rebellion, and human nature. The story tells us about ourselves and our deepest and darkest inclinations. It is a story which reminds us that when we go our own way we are in big trouble.

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:4-6

After Eve's conversation with the serpent, when she is told that she could know good and evil and be like God, she and Adam both ate the fruit of the tree. The serpent provides information to them in a seductive way but doesn't have to do much convincing for them to directly defy God's command.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Genesis 2:15-17

God created Adam and Eve for relationship. They were given all that they needed for life in the garden, and they were given the responsibility to care for it. Within the boundaries that God established, they had absolute freedom. The only restriction was they could not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God designed the relationship with humanity to be one of trust and dependence. God created human beings and asked them to place their complete trust in God. Adam and Even sinned not simply because they ate the forbidden fruit, they sinned because the failed to trust God. They wanted to be like God, having all the knowledge and wisdom of God. With this knowledge, they would no longer be dependent on God, they could could be independent and autonomous. The original sin is to reject relationship with God.

The power of this story lies not in the historicity of Adam and Eve, but in the knowledge the original sin of Adam and Eve is alive and well today. In Genesis 3, we don't read about Adam and Eve, we read about ourselves; we are Adam and Eve. For me, and I believe most of us, the urge for independence, the resistance to be told what to do, the refusal to submit to authority, and the lack of obedience is at its core a rejection of relationship. When I believe that I know best, that I can do it all on my own, that I must be in control, I am incapable of being in a relationship of mutuality and trust.

Relationships of any kind require openness, humility, and trust and reject all forms of domination and subjugation. God calls us into relationship, names us children of God, calls us to trust. We would rather trust ourselves, our possessions, and live independent and autonomous lives. Sin enters the world when we fail to trust because we ourselves are not trustworthy. Left to our devices we make the wrong choices, become fixated and obsessed with status, power and "being successful." When we fail to trust God in our lives we make wrong choices with disastrous consequences. As the apostle Paul reminds us:

For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:14-15

For anyone who has ever tried to live life for God, tried to be a truly good person, or simply reflected deeply on their life, knows the feeling Paul describes. We want to be kind, generous, patient, loving but we often are mean, stingy, ungrateful, angry, jealous, spiteful. We know life with God is better, and yet with consistently fail. The original sin of defiance and autonomy has been repeated so often it seems almost comical to describe it as "original."

The story of Adam and Eve is alive and well in our lives today. We are without doubt no more advanced than the first generation described in Genesis:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

The good news for us and the world is that Jesus Christ delivers us from our sin and from ourselves. Through Christ, the relationship with God which has been severed by sin and found to be irreparable by human effort is restored and renewed by the love of grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus saves us from sin and saves us from ourselves. In Christ we are a new creation, in Christ we are free to love and serve, knowing the certainty and security which comes from God's love. May we trust in the Lord with all our heart, mind, and body and know with certainty that our salvation rests in the arms of a loving and merciful God.