One of the most interesting aspects to me about the concept of sin is that it's rebellion against God. Sin is bad because God has mandated the rules, and God is the all-powerful judge of the universe. People often question that mentality in a discussion of morality (often due to the fact they don't believe in God at all), because human beings strive to make morality relative. Meaning that different events and inputs have different moral outcomes based on the situation.
In my mind morality is universal through God, and we see the first example of it when God sets the rules of the Garden of Eden. God tells the two humans not to eat from the tree of knowledge. The serpent asks the woman if God really said that they couldn't eat from any tree in the Garden. The woman says that they can't eat from the tree in the middle or they will die. The serpent lies to her and says you will not die, you'll just gain knowledge.
Here's the thing, when I first read this I wondered if God lied to humans about the tree. Sort of like how parents lie to kids about bad things in the world in order to keep them in line. But then I remembered that these are the first two people on earth. They have no real concept of death yet. It's likely that they would never die living in this paradise. In fact later in the chapter, God remarks that man must be banished so he's not allowed to become like one of us. Us again being the collective term God gives himself. Could humans have become one with God? Was that the intention? Or is this again some passed down human arrogance suggesting that man was almost God-like, but blew his chance. I have a feeling it's the latter.
Now, did they die immediately upon tasting the fruit? No, but they did purchase their own deaths by falling into sin and eating it. The wages of sin is death, as we are reminded by Paul in Romans 6:23. We clearly see that in this chapter. The humans wanted to gain wisdom, despite what God had told them. Too bad the "wisdom" they gained was that they were naked and afraid. As such they were banished to toil and die in the real world, with all the pain and suffering that entails.
That's what falling into sin does. It opens our eyes to how truly horrible the world really is. No matter our intentions of what we are doing, bad acts don't magically lead to good outcomes in this world. Maybe in the short term, but the long term consequences of sin is death. I'm reminded of the show Breaking Bad when it comes to small sins. Sure, making some drugs to save your family might seem like a small thing. But those small sins lead to greater sins, and soon you don't recognize the man you've become.
Study Thoughts:
1 - When did you first realize the world was a scary place? When were your eyes opened?
2 - Can you think of a time where a small sin lead to later sins? How did you correct that? Have you?
3 - What kind of wisdom does the world hold for you? How is it different from God's wisdom?
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