Sayings

Forbidden Fruit. … This phrase comes from the story of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, which resulted in their fall from immortality in the Garden of Eden into mortality. In Jewish mythology, forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands humankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden:

Viktor Frankl in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," describes the reactions of two brothers with the same heredity, the same environment, in the same concentration camp under the Nazis. One became a saint and the other a swine. Frankl tells us the reason why.

He said, "Each has within the power to choose how they will react to any given situation." God has given us the power of choice. Some people today do not wish to accept the responsibility for their actions. They blame society. They blame the environment. They blame the schools. They blame the circumstances. But Adam sinned in a perfect environment under perfect circumstances. 

We can't blame it all on somebody else. We must accept the blame ourselves for our part. Society is made up of individuals. If we have social injustice, we're the ones who are wrong; we're part of it. Let's accept our responsibility to do something about it.

Partaking of the ‘Forbidden Fruit’, after all, is a mindset of self-assertion over against God. It is a declaration of independence on the part of human beings. Eve was persuaded to think that God’s commands were up for debate and that she had the power and right to decide for herself what was right and wrong. This is the subtlety of sin. Doing a seemingly minor or harmless thing with a mindset of independence from God.

Lord, help us to keep our feet moving, our hands outstretched, and our hearts open to you. As we journey with you, keep us from temptation and help us to do Your work in our world. Amen