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During basketball ball practice one day, I made a stupid mistake.
I knew the play; we had gone over it a hundred times. But, when it came time to execute, I changed it up.
Why? Because I thought I knew something our coach didn’t. Well, it didn’t work out so well for me.
We were ordered on the line and everybody had to run, and they were not happy with me about it.
My decision had affected more than just me.
My disobedience became a punishment for us all.
“To the woman he said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’ To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you will return.’” (Genesis 3:16-19).
Adam and Eve’s disobedience became a punishment for all.
First, we see that because of her sin, all women will have pain in childbirth. But we can also see that women will also be sorrowful.
Have you ever wondered why our feelings are so much different than a man’s?
It may be surprising, but there are days I literally need to stay at home, curl up with a blanket and cry. I don’t need to be around people, I just need to be alone. I beg God during those times that He would take away those feelings of anger, impatience, sadness and sorrow. But here, we can see why we have it.
Then we see that God says the husband will rule over the wife. Our role as women changed because of Eve’s sin as well.
“If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; and, if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness; and then the dominion would have been no grievance: but our own sin and folly make our yoke heavy.” – Matthew Henry.
Adam’s punishment wasn’t much better.
Thus far, I can only imagine it was easy to find food. Everything Adam and Eve needed was right there in the garden.
But now, Adam, the head of the family, would have to work hard to provide food. No longer would they dine with God at His table, food laid out before them.
Instead, they would have to till the dusty earth and learn to grow their own. And it has been that way ever since.
Their act of disobedience was costly.
Sometimes we believe our own sin is our choice and only affects us alone. I’ve even heard people say, “I’m not hurting anyone.”
But it’s not true.
Our sin has a ripple effect.
Our choices affect more than us.
And ultimately, it affects our relationship with our Lord.
Today’s reading encourages us to make better choices today as we know they can and will affect others tomorrow.
Copyright © 2020 by Yalanda Merrell. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.