“Why do you think Eve even had a choice to taste the fruit?” Recently in a Bible study group with other women this question was asked. An interesting one I thought and one that had never even crossed my mind. A young woman sitting to my left replied rather quickly with “Because God gave it to her.” Hmmmmm . . . so let’s look at this picture. We all know it. Eve is chatting it up with the serpent who is fairly convincing that nothing will happen should she eat the fruit that has been forbidden. This entire interaction is with Satan and Eve. God is not really mentioned as being a part of the conversation, only a subject within it. But according to my young friend, God gave her the choice to eat the fruit.  

This answer struck a chord in me, my eyes widened and in my mind, I immediately shouted “Genius!” I mean “come on somebody,” as one of my prayer partners often says. This woman just blew an age-old concept out of the water with this one statement. We spend our entire lives blaming others, and yes, sometimes God for OUR choices. Choices that we have been given the freedom to make. 

We like to claim the choices that elevate us. The ones that show people what well-rounded, compassionate, successful people we are. But what about those that show the darker side of our existence? The ones that reveal our selfish, sinful nature.  Those we would like to hide. Sit with this thought for a second before reading on . . . How many times this week have you not taken responsibility for your choice or the consequences thereof?

I can see the confused faces now, “What is she talking about? Isn’t this space for marriage and family tips and tricks?” Why yes, dear reader it is. I am about to blow your mind. Because as I sat in that little space in the back of our sanctuary, a sobering thought came to mind. Yes, the serpent (Satan) was the one talking. Yes, he told her that she would surely not die from eating it. And, yes, he is credited with what we call the fall of man. But I want us to look at it from another angle. 

God created Eve – remember?  He molded and shaped her from an already created Adam. God alone put a mind in what I am sure was a beautiful head. The inner workings of her brain were meticulously crafted by a master artist. Do you think for one second that he could not have controlled how that mind thought, reasoned, and reacted to the serpent?

ABSOLUTELY He could have. He did not interfere with the scene in the Garden for one reason . . . freedom.  

God has granted each of us, beginning with Adam and then Eve, the ability to choose: free will, as we call it. This free will is what Eve exercised when choosing the fruit. Our Father, when weaving together the tapestry of man never intended to hold the reins of our existence uninvited. Of course, He wants us to submit fully to him but just the word submit alone denotes a yielding to someone or something else. In other words, we have the ability to give Him power and jurisdiction over our lives or not. It is our choice.  

Just yesterday, I watched two scenes unfold with the littles that I watch everyday. First, E’s mom walks into the playroom while he is playing. His little eyes widened as he yelled “MOMMA!” As he ran and jumped into her arms you could see how his excitement brought such joy to her heart. An exact opposite happened as D was picked up. We were playing outside when her dad arrived. She was not happy when I picked her up to take her to him. She did not reach out in excitement. She did not squeal and smile as I handed her over. Instead, she reached back for me with her eyes firmly planted on the slide behind me. Taking her from me, with an, “Oh, come here girl,” there was a little disappointment on his face. Two completely different reactions from children. Two completely different emotions from parents.

Let’s go back to the Garden for a minute. Imagine if Eve had walked away from the

serpent. She had that choice. She could have run wide-eyed and joyful to God, jumping into His arm like E did with his mother. Unfortunately, she reached for the fruit just as D reached for the slide, both hurting the hearts of their fathers.  

Galatians 5:13 tells us, “ For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use freedom to serve one another in love.”  Eve chose to satisfy her own sinful nature. How will you choose to use your freedom?

Written by: Betty Ann NeSmith. Betty Ann lives in Boston, GA with her husband, Payton.