The Problem with Passion (Genesis 3:6)

 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)

Do you know what a lust is? According to Strong’s Greek dictionary, it’s defined as a passionate desire. But there’s more to it than that. There’s nothing inherently wrong with merely desiring something with passion. I have moments where I passionately desire a gooey slice of chocolate cream pie. That’s fine; I’m quite sure there’s going to be chocolate cream pie at the wedding supper of the Lamb!

The definition of lust includes the concept of coveting. If we’re passionately desiring something that belongs to someone else, or something that God doesn’t want us to have, or if we’re desiring something that would be fine, but we’re desiring it the wrong way (like if I passionately desired to eat an entire chocolate cream pie in one sitting), we’ve crossed into the realm of lusting.

After Satan had used his limited bag of tricks to get Eve’s attention, Eve looked at the fruit itself. What did she see? She saw it was good for food. It probably made her stomach growl. But God had created it to be good, right? Yes, but since He had also forbidden it, Eve’s desire to eat it was a lust. The Bible would later refer to this particular type of desire that’s an inappropriate craving of the body as a lust of the flesh.  

Then Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was pleasing to the eye. God had created it to be beautiful. But since Eve wasn’t supposed to have it, Eve’s longing for it when she eyed it was a lust. The Bible would later refer to this type of desire as a lust of the eye.

Finally, Eve saw that the fruit was good for gaining wisdom so that she could be like God. Remember that God had wanted Adam and Eve to be like Him. That’s why He created them in His likeness. But He wanted them to be like Him HIS way, namely through learning a godly knowledge of good and evil by choosing good. But when Eve wanted to gain wisdom by eating what God told her not to eat, her desire to be like Him turned into a lust. The Bible would later classify this type of desire as a lust for the pride of life.  

In the New Testament, these three categories are what John used to describe the ways of the world (1 John 2:16). Every single sin we can commit or even think of committing falls into one of these three categories. We’re either coveting something to satisfy our body’s cravings, we’re focusing our sight on something we’re not supposed to have, or we’re seeking something that will boost our egos. To be considered acceptable to God, we MUST conquer all of our sins in all three of these areas.

Unfortunately, we're just not capable of conquering even one of them. Adam and Eve's blood running through our veins has been tainted, and it runs thick!

“Fred, that’s not true. I totally conquered this one particular sin! I quit doing such and so all by myself!”

Yeah, but you just replaced it with pride, so that’s not really conquering anything.

This is extremely bad news that would leave us without hope—except Jesus came along. 

 He conquered all three categories of sin for us. In Matthew and Luke, we see that God the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted with each of them, and He passed with flying colors!  

Satan approached Jesus and said, "Turn this stone into bread." Lust of the flesh. Jesus said no. A+!

Satan said, "I will give you everything that you SEE, if only you worship me." Lust of the eyes. Jesus said no. A+!

Satan said, "Throw Yourself off of this high point of the Temple. Force God the Father's hand by putting Him in a position where He has to catch You. You call the shots for a change." Lust for the pride of life. Jesus said no. A+!

In every area of sin where we fail, starting with Adam and Eve, Jesus conquered with a perfect score.

Now the beauty of the Gospel is not that Jesus had such great teachings about how to be a good person. Although He did. The beauty of the Gospel is that He was a good Person for us. He took His perfect score, looked at our failed score, and said, "I’ll trade you! You give Me your F- and I’ll give you My A+. This way, you can experience everything My Father is giving Me for My obedience, and I’ll go to the cross and get punished for your disobedience."

Do you know? I took Him up on His offer! Now God the Father looks at Jesus' perfect test paper when He evaluates how I'm doing. As an added bonus, He sent His Spirit inside of me to start changing those pesky desires that kept getting me in trouble in the first place. And my life has never been the same!

How about you? This particular meditation could totally change your life. Do you want to trade with Him? If so, pray this:

Dear Jesus, I believe that as God the Son, You passed my test in every area that I’ve failed. I also believe You were punished on the cross so that I could be forgiven, and that You rose again from the dead to prove You’re able to give me a new life. I want to trade. Please give Me Your perfect score so Your Father would find me acceptable. And I want Your Holy Spirit to teach me how to live for You. Thank You for going through so much to save me. In Your Name I pray, Amen.

If you have any questions or if you just made that decision, I want to hear about it! Shoot me an email with the contact form. I would love to hear from you!