Wait and See
As a descendant of Eve, I'm curious why deception and lies are easier to believe than truth and faith. And if that statement sounds absurd, that's because it is. But please do remember how her situation went...
"Eve, I love you and I want you to have a beautiful life. Please do not eat from that tree right over there, but please do delight yourself in all that I have given you."
"Hey, Eve. You wanna? It's fine, He lied. You'll be smart..."
And I think we all know what happened at the end of that fairy tale. The poor girl was deceived. Tricked! She fell. Just like I do.
But why? Why are lies and trickery so appealing and why is it easier for us to believe in? Is it because 'the thoughts of human hearts are only evil all the time' (Gen 6:5)? Or is it because 'the serpent is more crafty than all other animals' (Gen 3:1)? Or is it because sneaky, snide comments sound better than soft, sweet words?
In reality, it's probably because deception and lies produce a quick, fast, easy fix, while truth and faith require more of a 'wait and see' approach. Noah had about 950 years to 'wait and see' while we continue to hear 'life is short, make the most of it'. Noah had many, many years to see what God had up his sleeve. Noah had a million more days to watch God's promises come to pass. We keep hearing, and believing, we hardly have any time and therefore we've got to make our own good things happen.
And I only know this because I know me. I know my desires to have things happen today, right away and to know how things will end up. I want to know that everything will be okay, and I want to have all of it as soon as possible. So, of course my initial instinct isn't to wait. My initial instinct is to take care of the problem and find good things on my own.
But I am too weak, too hasty, and have too little knowledge of the big picture to figure it out on my own. I want to be a full time writer? Great, maybe I will. I want life to be a little happier and easier? Yep, we all do. I want to have the fairy tale I always dreamed of? So did Eve. But no one ever got anywhere trying to make their own destiny, did they?
There's a lesson is learning to trust here. And there's a lesson in learning to 'go with the flow'. But perhaps the biggest lesson is knowing that God loves me and wants me to have a beautiful life, with a beautiful purpose, and to one day live in His beautiful kingdom. He's already got the plan and the layout, all He asked me to do was to trust, and listen and obey.
"Eve, I love you and I want you to have a beautiful life. Please do not eat from that tree right over there, but please do delight yourself in all that I have given you."
"Hey, Eve. You wanna? It's fine, He lied. You'll be smart..."
And I think we all know what happened at the end of that fairy tale. The poor girl was deceived. Tricked! She fell. Just like I do.
But why? Why are lies and trickery so appealing and why is it easier for us to believe in? Is it because 'the thoughts of human hearts are only evil all the time' (Gen 6:5)? Or is it because 'the serpent is more crafty than all other animals' (Gen 3:1)? Or is it because sneaky, snide comments sound better than soft, sweet words?
In reality, it's probably because deception and lies produce a quick, fast, easy fix, while truth and faith require more of a 'wait and see' approach. Noah had about 950 years to 'wait and see' while we continue to hear 'life is short, make the most of it'. Noah had many, many years to see what God had up his sleeve. Noah had a million more days to watch God's promises come to pass. We keep hearing, and believing, we hardly have any time and therefore we've got to make our own good things happen.
And I only know this because I know me. I know my desires to have things happen today, right away and to know how things will end up. I want to know that everything will be okay, and I want to have all of it as soon as possible. So, of course my initial instinct isn't to wait. My initial instinct is to take care of the problem and find good things on my own.
But I am too weak, too hasty, and have too little knowledge of the big picture to figure it out on my own. I want to be a full time writer? Great, maybe I will. I want life to be a little happier and easier? Yep, we all do. I want to have the fairy tale I always dreamed of? So did Eve. But no one ever got anywhere trying to make their own destiny, did they?
There's a lesson is learning to trust here. And there's a lesson in learning to 'go with the flow'. But perhaps the biggest lesson is knowing that God loves me and wants me to have a beautiful life, with a beautiful purpose, and to one day live in His beautiful kingdom. He's already got the plan and the layout, all He asked me to do was to trust, and listen and obey.
Beautiful.
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