Go For the Genuinely Good

UV 2120/10000 Go for the Genuinely Good
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat
Genesis 3 v 6

The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings in more ways than one. It is not just the account of how all things were brought into being and how all creatures including man and woman were created but it records the beginning of the three primal lusts: lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and pride of life to which are attributed all sins. The tree appearing to be good for food is the beginning of the lust of the flesh. That it was pleasant for the eyes is the genesis of the lust of the eye and the desire to become wise is the pride of life. These primal lusts began to operate in every generation, so much so in the very next generation, the pride of life causes Cain to slay his blameless brother Abel.
The love of money is related to all three primal lusts: the illusion that money could get one anything one wanted, anyone one wanted and any position one desires drives the desire to accumulate more and more. This is the reason scripture calls the love of money the root of all evil. Again, false beliefs are related to all three primal lusts. It is not as if the tree or its forbidden fruit was genuinely good or genuinely pleasant or something that would genuinely make one wise. It led to the fall of man and the descent into sin by all subsequent generations. It brought eternal death instead of eternal life. The knowledge of good and evil was not the knowledge of God but of the demons. This is the reason that something intrinsically evil can masquerade as something good. It is the secret behind anything counterfeit, be it currency or precious stones or people. It would look 99 per cent genuine but the one per cent difference if spotted in time would prevent much loss and harm. We need to develop this ability to spot the genuine and distinguish it from the counterfeit.

Deception was the main modus operandi of the enemy. Things are made to appear as good and genuine to lure us into it, to ensnare us. This uni-verse should prod us into looking deeply at everything and to not chose anything till it is proved to be genuinely good. It is not as if there were no genuinely good options available to Adam and Eve in the garden but the enemy saw the desire in their hearts to be god-like. Both Adam and Jesus proved the power of one. One man can lead all humanity into a free fall into sin and shame while one man can also lead all humanity to salvation and eternal life and glory. God’s desire today is that we be genuinely Christ-like and He will give us what is genuinely not deceptively good. He proved Himself genuine by yielding to a painful death on the cross but resurrecting Himself on the third day. He proved Himself genuine by His words and His deeds.

Prateep V Philip