It All Goes Back To The Tree
By Susan Klein
“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”
Genesis 2:16-17
When my husband and I used to teach Sunday school to young children, we often sang songs with them. One of my favorites went like this: Oh, be careful little eyes what you see, oh be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see. Another verse started with: Oh, be careful little ears what you hear...By Susan Klein
“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”
Genesis 2:16-17
We were trying to convey the message, even to little ones, that God doesn’t want us to intentionally expose ourselves to things that are bad for us. As children ultimately turn into adults, this concept, if firmly cemented in their minds, promotes good decision making when faced with the world’s constant temptations. As a teen, I made some unwise decisions, including horror movies and books which portrayed evil images. I didn’t know at the time that those evil images would remain in my mind and cause me to have disturbing thoughts and dreams for many years to come.
When God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He didn’t say, “sometimes eat...” or “only eat if...” He said, “You must not eat...,” and with good reason! God created Adam without the knowledge of evil because He wanted to protect him from it. He loved him so much that He did not want Adam to have to be exposed to all the hurtful things that come with knowing about evil. The same is true for us today. Granted, we are born into a sin-filled world, but we don’t have to purposefully expose ourselves to things that are evil. Yes, some exposure to evil will always be unavoidable: the news, conversation and real-life experiences. But given a choice, we don’t have to choose to “eat of that tree”!
God wants to protect us from evil, but at the same time to be informed about evil. We can do that through the reading of His Word. We don’t need to look elsewhere to be informed about such things as there is plenty of wisdom to be gained from the Scriptures. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. I will have nothing to do with evil. Psalm 101: 3a, 4b
GOING DEEPER:
1. How are you protecting yourself from what God has said is evil?
2. Are there any areas of your life that need to be spiritually reinforced so they don’t become a door for evil?
FURTHER READING:
Proverbs 11:27; 1Thessalonians 5:21; John 17:15
Susan is a wife and mother of two. She leads a small group and teaches for Tuesday a.m. Bible Study.
