The Word of God Versus Self Interest Theologies

What did God say?

“The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”” (Genesis 2: 16-17)

What did the serpent say?

““You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” (Genesis 3: 4-5)

Did Eve know the Word of God?

“The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3: 2-3)

Why did she eat?

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3: 6)

Commentary

God gave a commandment and it was overturned by the serpent. The knowledge of Eve about the same commandment did not protect her because she adhered to self-seeking and self-interest sophistries. Eve was concerned with what life earns her than what life was all about. Instead of living according to the Word of God, she allowed self-interest philosophy to ruin her eternal happiness and home.

We too, like Eve, are often tempted to live by what serves our best self-interest and beliefs in the church than seeking to rely on what God has for us. Knowledge alone was not enough to save Eve from the temptation, she needed complete reliance upon God and trust in His Word. Christians should learn to seek after what serves the eternal intents of God and not what serves our core beliefs, philosophies, and self-interests. The Bible can mean anything and everything to people (hence many doctrines), but what did God really say?