Long before Steve Jobs brought this fruit to the center of everyone’s vocabulary, another apple changed man (and woman) forever.
One of the things I love about the Scriptures is that they are a never ending treasure trove of discoveries. If Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived (969 years), would have had a Bible, I don’t think even he could have reached the bottom of the well of rich insights and wisdom found there.
The Creation story is one of the first things most Christians tell their kids. Still I think there’s probably some lingering shame in many women about the fact that Satan approached Eve first—she was the lynch pin to bringing down the whole of mankind.
Arrogant and self-righteous men have used this “weaker partner” aspect to heap abuse on their spouses and daughters for centuries magnifying the guilt. But Satan is cunning. His sole ambition has always been to turn Man away from God. He knew what Man’s weakness was and is—woman—and even now, more in our day and age, women. So in the beginning, Satan went after Man through Woman.
Has anything really changed? How many powerful men have been brought to their knees because of this weakness? How many have lost families, jobs, and reputations because of this Achilles’ heel?
But before we woman get on our high horses, let’s remember who Satan approached first. And how did he do it? By convincing Eve that something was missing in her life. Remember this is the woman who lived in the most beautiful “house” on the planet? She didn’t have to work. She didn’t have to clean. She didn’t have to cook. She didn’t have to exercise. She didn’t even have any kids yet to pre-occupy her. All she had to do all day every day was hang out with her hubby (Adam) and her best friend (God).
And yet when Satan approached her, he told her the wealth she had wasn’t enough, that God was holding out on her. That maybe God thought she wasn’t smart enough or tough enough to handle the knowledge he was dangling just out of reach. That “in truth” her best friend had lied to her, that God—Goodness personified–wasn’t what He seemed. That the only way she could be truly satisfied was to step out from behind God’s shadow and take possession of “it” herself.
And notice that this fruit wasn’t a gnarly potato or hairy kiwi. What would be the appeal in that? No, it was pleasing to the eye. It was beautiful. It looked ripe, succulent, and delicious. Keep in mind this was the woman who literally had everything she needed. But she took her eyes off all the other gifts God had given her and said, “Why can’t I have that one?”
So what about you? What’s your apple?
This is the time of the year when we are so easily distracted. When Satan continuously dangles fruit in front of our eyes and asks, “Why can’t you have this?” And it may not be a possession. It could be a person that you have no business being with. It could be a place that you have no business being at. It could be an activity that you have no business being in.
God put a figurative skull and crossbones at the base of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for a reason.
So again, I ask you, “What’s your apple?”
Believe me, Satan already knows it.
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