I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

Paul’s words in the book of Romans, succinctly describes the inner struggles and torment of an individual grappling with the contrary nature of sin.

The book of Genesis reveals the process of the entrance of sin into the world. Adam and Eve are given a great vision by God to be “fruitful, multiply and have dominion.” They were to create a family, nation and world that would expand under the exclusive authority of a loving God. Their role, in order to bring about that desired result, was to take the moral law issued by God and apply that standard to their own conduct.

For them, the moral law was clear-cut: “Do not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.” God gave them the responsibility to have faith in the commandment and to apply it to their life.

Keeping Integrity

The serpent in our story represents the challenge that arises in the face of establishing your integrity with God by keeping faith in his word. Whereas, God had commanded Adam and Eve to deny the desire for the fruit, the serpent, in direct conflict with that, was vigorously promoting its alluring qualities and benefits. Whereas, God was demanding a postponement of gratification, the serpent was insistent that a greater fulfillment could be had right away.

We experience this same struggle in many forms. The world tries to entice you to sacrifice your principles in order to achieve a momentary advantage. For example, in the workplace, perhaps you have experienced a co-worker giving your superior a bad report about you to enhance their own position over you. If they receive the promotion for which you were in line, it appears their strategy was successful. Might not you be tempted to employ the same tactic in retaliation?

In another example, how many sincere people have been hurt in love because they trusted someone who betrayed them, breaking their marriage vows in order to pursue the momentary pleasure of an illicit affair?

Whether the book of Genesis is historical fact, legend or myth, it describes to a tee the inner dynamics in the struggle against sin. The contradiction originates within each of us.

Mind and Body

The serpent speaks to our fleshy nature, our instinctive animal side that pursues the way of self-interest, self survival and self gratification. It is that perspective of human life that insists we are nothing more than animals; and like animals, we should acquiesce to the demands of natural desires. Within that unspiritual view of life, our life ends with the death of our flesh body. The idea that we should control our desire for immediate gratification so as to be more able to experience a greater fulfillment beyond the flesh is considered unjustifiable, even nonsense.

God, on the other hand, speaks to our soul, the part of us that pursues the highest ideals. Ideals, such as sacrificing one’s self for others or maintaining abstinence before marriage, are ideals that only make sense if there is a greater fulfillment beyond the narrow scope of natural desire and physical life. Within that God-affirming view, our physical life is to be fulfilled by the development of inner spiritual qualities; qualities that will also serve us as prime faculties in the spiritual world to come.

Thus, it was Adam and Eve’s role to exert the will of the spirit over the body of flesh; thereby rejecting the serpent’s self-centered enticements. This is your role as well.

Power of Faith

However, as Jesus said, “the spirit is willing, but flesh is weak.” This means that, in of itself, the spirit cannot easily elicit the cooperation of the body. In fact, the body’s desire for immediate gratification seems to take precedence at an ever-increasing rate in the modern world. “If it feels good, do it” is the contemporary vernacular of the serpent’s view.

Jesus also said that the power of faith “the size of a mustard seed” could move a mountain. When God gave his commandment not to eat the fruit, Adam and Eve were to hold on to that Word while infusing their obedience to it with the power of their faith.

With the power of faith, the balance on the “spirit vs. flesh” scale is tipped toward empowering the purpose of the spirit. When faith is eliminated from the equation, the scale tips the opposite way toward the desires of the flesh; integrity disintegrates, relationships based on trustful love are all but impossible. With it crumbles as well, the life of freedom replaced by the slavery Paul described; the rise of the inordinate, uncontrollable desires of the flesh. These are the bad habits that choke off life.

Sin is any thought or action that violates God’s Word, undermines your faith and tips the scale toward the flesh. Sin is always the act of compromising the absolute truths of God, be it offered by a “serpent” or by a pop culture icon. When you commit a sin, you are eroding the basis of true freedom and the capacity for enduring relationships of love. You undermine your integrity and lose trustworthiness in the sight of God and others.

When someone pledges their undying love during the day, but at night they pursue the pleasures of the flesh, can such a person instill trust? For there to be trust, words and deeds have to be in harmony, not in contradiction.

Thus, to combat the destructive enticements of self gratification, one must hold on tightly in faith to the truths that “will set you free.” This is one of the most important reasons you need to begin a life of faith within a community of faith that centers upon God’s word.

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