But I Want It

Have you ever given thought as to the age of Eve when she disobeyed God and allowed the serpent to deceive her in the Garden of Eden?  Was it immediately after God created her that sin entered the garden, or was Eve in her 30’s, 40’s, 50’s; or perhaps one-hundred or one-thousand years old?  How long did it take Eve to give into temptation and allow the devil to beguile her?

The sin-nature that Adam and Eve passed down to humanity is the same driving force behind every obsession that mankind deals with when told they cannot have something.  It only fuels the fire of impetuous behavior. 

When some individuals are denied their impulsive desires, it creates a self-centered, self-indulgent attitude deep within their psyche.  Their rebellion says, “But I want it by whatever means possible, fair or unfair; by hook or by crook.”

God forbid if someone else wants the same thing they do, especially if there is only one item available.  If you don’t believe it, think back to the craze of Cabbage Patch Kids; they were the rage.  People were literally fighting each other to obtain one of these dolls to satisfy their obsessive and uncontrollable behavior.  Some store employees were trampled as they opened the doors for business. 

E-bay is an example of uncontrolled bidding at times when others want the same thing.  It amazes me when one person starts bidding and then someone else jumps in with their bid and on it does until the highest bid takes the auction. 

Many times the item sells for more than it is worth, because of bidding wars between people that refuse to submit to better judgment.  They wanted it whatever the cost, because someone else was obsessing over the same thing they desired, which made the craving all the more intense.  

Bidding brings out similar emotions as if someone is saying, “You can’t have it.”  It intensifies the quest to obtain the item; causing the heart to palpitate faster and blood pressure to rise; all because of the drive to obtain.  Good sense should have taken precedent, but the desire to acquire raised its ugly head, which surpassed the capability to say, “No, it’s not worth it.”  Adam and Eve fell as a result of a similar temptation. 

Like Eve, people get caught up in the momentary frenzy of decision making, which is stimulated by ongoing cravings that a covetous heart generates, thus, producing regrets at a later time.  This temporary insanity says, “But I want it.”  I think that most people can relate to comparable fixations at times.

Buying a new car that exceeds the household budget is a good example of wanting something so badly that failure to consider the hidden, negative aspects that encompass indebtedness is overlooked—exorbitant, monthly payments for one.  A person living from paycheck to paycheck should not give into temptations that obsession and the longing of their heart produces, until such time that they can truly afford the plunge.

Plastic money makes it easy to achieve ‘wants’ that people brood over, especially those individuals that are unable to kick the craving out of their yearning mind.  The penalty for their fixation is high interest rates and possible late fees; making the item cost more than it is worth; if in fact all of the required payments are made on time.  Stress accompanies the lack of money when payments are due, which is another factor of bad decisions.

A shortage of money will tear at the very foundation of marriages and personal self-worth when creditors start calling, because of a past due accounts.  Financial woes of indebtedness produce anxiety when people exceed their maximum limit of what they can afford to buy; all because of the “But I want it” nature.

As I said earlier; desire can overshadow good judgment.  When a person continually obsesses over something that they want, even having the knowledge that they should not involve themselves, sooner or later, because of over zealousness and a weakness of moral fiber to say ‘no’, they give into their aspiration and make irrational decisions that can affect every part of their living, depending upon the degree of the blunder they made.

I wonder how long it took the serpent to persuade Eve to eat the fruit of the tree that God placed in the midst of the Garden of Eden.  How many days passed after God told Adam not to eat the fruit that Eve gave into temptation and then encouraged Adam to do likewise. 

I believe that she made a point of walking past the tree each day, because the fruit was pleasing to the eye.  I have no doubt that she touched the fruit; squeezed and smelled it rather than directing her mind elsewhere and leaving it alone.

I think Eve toyed with the idea of taking a bite even though she must have remembered what God had told Adam.  No doubt she thought she was strong enough to resist fleshly desires by getting as close to the forbidden fruit as possible without fulfilling her throbbing desire to taste it. 

This is typical of present day fence sitters that tempt fate by straddling God’s line of demarcation that separates good from evil; a place where angels fear to tread.  Let’s face it, curiosity and rebellion affect good sense, thus, enticing a person to get as close to sin as they can without doing the deed.  It is trouble knocking at the door when this occurs.  Lust usually wins out and sin is realized, which brings remorse, condemnation, and regret.

If it actually took a period of time for Eve to yield to temptation, it stands to reason that she must have reluctantly left the tree each time, only to return another day with her heart racing in her chest, because of obsession, weakness of flesh, and a mouth that salivated at the very thought of the fruit. 

Assume, for the sake of argument that Eve continually reflected upon the fruit and how wonderful it would be to taste.  The end result, however or whenever it happened, was that she allowed the relentless urge to defeat her, while listening to the serpent (the devil) tell her that it was okay to do so.  Eve finally gave into temptation and sinned.

Eve should have ran in the opposite direction just like humanity should do today rather than allowing themselves to be deceived by Satan into sinning.  They should not take time to reason with self and the devil as to why they should be denied certain things that God says in His Word is sin.

Temptation is not sin of itself, but it becomes sin when individuals permit themselves to be manipulated by uncontrolled urges, while listening to the lies that Satan tells them, and then doing what they know is wrong in the eyes of the Lord.  So why did God create us in the first place?

God wanted to commune with mankind so much that He created man in His own image to walk and talk with in the cool of the evening.  I believe the body was made to live forever, because of the magnificent ability that God gave the brain to regenerate itself, and the rest of the cells throughout the body to reproduce.  

God’s plan for humanity was perfect until sin entered the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the fruit that the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ produced.  At that moment, man’s physical lifespan was altered, which sealed their fate—death.

They chose to sin rather than keep themselves pure before God.  It was they, not God that made the choice, which I believe, at that moment, their bodies began to die.  Immediately thereafter they were ejected out of the garden after God confronted them regarding their sin.

(Genesis 2:16-17), “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;’ ”  vs.17 “ ‘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 surely die.’ ”

From the beginning of time to present day living, people are trying to figure out ways to lengthen their life of the seventy or so years that God limited mankind to, yet, every person born in the world, since Adam, will die one day, because of sin. 

The Fountain of Youth is nonexistent, though the development of new drugs and the advancements in surgical procedures have, without a doubt, lengthened our years.  What we do with this limited time matters most in the end.  Whether we abide in the Truth of God’s Word or yield to sin, our decision to serve God or Satan ultimately determines our final destination of heaven or hell. 

Two things are certain in life; death and taxes.  Don’t you wish you could live forever without having to die?  I know I do, but thanks to Adam and Eve and their “But I want it” attitude, my body will die just as theirs did, because of the sin-nature that befell me by proxy. 

My hope is not in things of this world, but in Jesus Christ only, of whom I have accepted as Lord and Savior.  Because of the price He paid on Calvary, my soul will live for eternity in heaven.  The blood that He shed on the cross for my sins, bought my salvation and the salvation of mankind.  All they need to do is invite Him into their heart, and they will be saved.

The most significant thing that separates the spiritual realm from the physical world of flesh and blood is simply this; eternity is just a heartbeat away.  Even though scientists have lengthened our lifespan, sooner or later, even if we live to be a hundred, the end will come.  This body will return to the dust from whence it came. 

I am delighted, beyond words, that I asked God to forgive me of my sins and invited His Son into this life form.  I need not fear what tomorrow may bring, because I have the assurance that I will awaken in heaven when I close my eyes for the last time on earth.  You too can have this confidence in God through Jesus Christ.

Written by,

Papa Boyd