A Little More Like Eve Than I'd Like to Admit

Recently I had a day filled with thoughts like, "Mmm, it would be really nice to have a newer home some day, a home that didn't have cracks in the walls or sloping floors, ect." And, "Ah, I would be a little happier if I had cabinets that were made of real hard wood instead of pressed ply-wood. Oh, yeah, and it would be really fun to have lots of new clothes and a new car. Hmm, I wonder how much happier I would be if I had those things? ... Maybe someday."

Late at night I turned to my Life Application Study Bible with plans to read from Genesis. I opened it up and the profile of Eve caught my eye.

"Eve was approached by Satan in the Garden of Eden, where she and Adam lived. He questioned her contentment. How could she be happy when she was not allowed to eat from one of the fruit trees? Satan helped Eve shift her focus from all that God had done and given to the one thing he had withheld. And Eve was willing to accept Satan's viewpoint without checking with God.

Sound familiar? How often is our attention drawn from the much which is ours to the little that isn't? We get that 'I've got to have it' feeling. Eve was typical of us all, and we consistently show we are her decendants by repeating her mistakes. Our desires, like Eve's can be quite easily manipulated. They are not the best basis for our actions. We need to keep God in our decision-making process

always. His word, the Bible, is our guidebook in decision making."

(Life Application Study Bible, NIV version, profile of Eve, page 15)

Ugh. That hit like a smack in the face. I guess I had never thought about Eve's sin that way. I had simply thought of it as her wanting to be like God. I had pridefully thought, "I'm not like that, I don't really want to be like God." Think again Natalie. As the Study Bible pointed out, she shifted her focus, dwelt upon her lack of contentment - that thing she wanted but didn't have - and acted upon those feelings. Yikes. That has my name written all over it. I brought these thoughts up to Steve and he agreed. Struggling with contentment in what God has given us has been a problem for him too, Steve admitted. He said that he often thinks about how much happiness this gadget or that new item might bring.

Now, having items is not wrong or sinful, we would both agree. Holding those items as a priority in life or depending upon them for contentment is where the problem lies. Hmm, quite humbling. Good reminder.... I think we'll both be working on this one.