Beware the Monster Lurking in the Shadows of Garden Lane (Genesis 2:16-17)

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” - Genesis 2:16-17

In Moses' language that he used to write Genesis, God's first command to Adam was to eat of every tree in the Garden. And it was an emphatic command. "Eat! Eat!" He had designed Adam to enjoy life, it was time to get busy! There was only one tree in this vast ocean of fruit trees about which God said, "Don't eat." 

I'm sure at first, Adam was very excited about his new lot in life. But he didn't take into account the hideous monster watching from the shadows. 

The description of this particular monster is difficult, which is strange because his numerous attacks have been seen by scores of eye-witnesses. It’s not as if he devours his victims in secret. He might hunt in secret, but when the attack actually comes, it’s usually out in the open for everyone to see. 

Some say he’s a shape-shifter. He creeps up on his unsuspecting victim disguised as all kinds of different people or possessions. Some say that he never has a shape at all; rather he attacks a person through something that's almost like a hypnosis. Others say he’s like a virus that ravages the heart. Whatever the case, he’s pure evil, and he’s destructive. 

One minute, his prey can be standing there, minding his own business, happy as a clam. All of a sudden, he's exhibiting various levels of insanity, babbling nonsense. It’s hard to tell exactly how the monster comes, but there’s never any question as to whether or not he was there. The destroyed life of a victim is his calling card. 

What is this powerful creature’s name? Some know him as Malcontent. Others know him as Covetousness. All have experienced him as the Joy Killer.  

It’s interesting to me how little press Covetousness gets considering how lethal he is. One always hears warnings against his children: idolatry, murder, theft, adultery, and lying, but we’re not nearly as wary or on our guard as we should be against the parent. We've even adopted him as a cultural value!  

Allow me to get ahead of our walk through the Bible to look at the record and see just how often this terror bared his teeth!

• He attacked Lucifer, God’s most prized angel, and made him crazy enough to think that he could dethrone the King of Kings!

• He attacked Adam and Eve and made them insane enough to give up a perfect life, a perfect marriage, and a perfect home for the sake of the one thing on the entire planet that God said they couldn’t have.

• He attacked Cain. He kept Cain from pondering the reason why God liked Abel’s sacrifice more and instead drove him to covet the favor that God had shown Abel.

• He attacked Abraham's wife, Sarah, and made her cast a helpless woman and her son into the wilderness to die. 

•  He attacked Jacob and turned him into a deceiver who was willing to cheat his elderly blind father and his brother for the sake of riches and prestige.

• He attacked Joseph’s brothers and turned them all into potential murderers. 

• He attacked Miriam and Aaron, turning them against their beloved brother, Moses, leaving Miriam infected with leprosy.  

• He attacked King Saul, making him crazy enough to try to kill his most valuable and loyal soldier, David.

• He attacked David himself and turned him into a murdering, lying adulterer. 

• He attacked Solomon and left him a tortured old man without meaning. 

• He attacked Jesus in the middle of the desert using the lips of Satan… and he got his can kicked! 

Whew. Isn’t that refreshing? After this huge long list of trophies covered with misery and death, right when this monster seemed absolutely invincible in his onslaught, he finally met his match. The showdown happened right after Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Using Satan, Covetousness attempted to bring Jesus to His knees with food that God hadn’t given Jesus permission to eat, fame that God’s plan didn’t allow for, and kingdoms and authority that God had not yet given because Jesus had not yet stepped through the doorway of the cross. 

True, it would have been insane for Jesus to NOT have fought off Covetousness’ attack. It would have been nuts to give up His eternal relationship with His Father and the glory that His Father offered. But anybody else would have done it in a heartbeat. Nobody else, not the most powerful angel in Heaven, not the most perfect couple on Earth, had ever succeeded in fending Covetousness off, no matter how much God had blessed them. But Jesus stared without blinking into that raging monster’s jaws, grabbed the creature by the throat, threw him to the ground, and stomped his head into the sand. 

Now of course, that's a big deal to us, because many of us have made the decision to hide in the folds of Jesus' white robe that He earned by defeating that Monster and all its children. Someday, at Judgment, when Jesus the Victor is standing before His Father, we're confident that He's going to say, "They're with Me!" He said He would.

But we need to get better at using the power Jesus offers to fight that Monster in our own battles. Because even though we're hiding in Jesus' righteousness, Covetousness can still make us insane and wreak all kinds of havoc in our lives. 

Thankfully, Jesus gave us two weapons we can use. The first is contentment. It's the discipline of taking our eyes off the one tree that God forbade and enjoying the vast ocean of trees that God gleefully said to "Eat, Eat!" 

The second weapon is gratitude. When you're staring into Covetousness' jaws, and you're starting to ponder how much you're missing out on what everyone else surely has, start making a mental list of every little thing God has given you today. The longer the list, the faster you'll see the Monster shrink and shrivel before your eyes. 

Dear Heavenly Father, You do so much for us! With the life of Your own Kid, You've offered us forgiveness. You've given us new lives that will last forever. You've prepared a place in Your home where we can live with You. As if that weren't enough, You DAILY flood us with experiences of love, joy, peace, comfort, and pleasure! Please teach us to be content. With Your Spirit, empower us to be more grateful. In Jesus' Name, Amen.