Enter Evil: Genesis 3:1-6
Anything done in opposition to God’s truth is evil. That is our context for when the serpent and Eve meet in the garden. The serpent comes to Eve and begins to question her.
The Bible says Adam was with her. Adam was there, by her side, as God intended in creation. As the serpent talked to Eve, I cannot help but wonder what Adam was doing! As the serpent works through his tempting words, where is Adam to help Eve stay strong? God made them to be complete together, why was Adam not doing his job and being more than just physically present?
The serpent asks Eve if she should not eat from any tree in the garden. The serpent offers this up to be a leading question. The serpent is aware of God’s directive; this is merely a means to bias Eve to his argument. As we – and the serpent – expect, Eve counters with the truth.
Eve’s truth opens the door for the serpent’s lie. The serpent directly contradicts God’s words and says they will not surely die. He couches the lie in truth, though. The serpent says that their eyes would be opened and they would know good from evil. The serpent isn’t wrong on this point. Yet, as the serpent wraps his lies in truth and his logic grows deeper, I still cannot help but wonder where Adam is in all of this.
This is the first mention in the Bible of the word evil as an independent concept – although the word evil is certainly used several times as a title in the name, “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Immediately following this use of the word evil, we get our first description of an evil act. It seems so innocent. Eve looked at the fruit, decided it would nourish her body, realized it looked appealing to her, she ate it, and then gave some to Adam for him to eat.
Look at all the actions in this list which would be considered good decisions in the right context. Eve ate nourishing food, which is a good decision. It brought joy to her life, which is usually a good thing. Eve shared her resources, which is a good thing. Every action in this sequence of events is filled with positive motivations. This leads to a very interesting definition of evil. It is a definition I rather like.
Evil isn’t doing bad things. Evil is putting our own judgment above God’s truth. Eve made a string of rational decisions. We want people to eat healthy foods, we want people to enjoy life, and we want people to think of others. What on that list would we ever describe as evil? Yet those are the actions that lead to sin entering the world forever. This is why we cannot define evil by the action itself. Good motivations can lead to evil actions. Anything done in opposition to God’s truth is evil.
