(While this post is not an actual part of the previous series, to say it would not easily tie into it would hardly be accurate)
I do not know about you, but I find that we often focus so much on the New Testament that we forget there is so very much in the Old. Take the "fall" in Genesis 3, for instance.
In this record, we see four players: Adam, Eve, the serpent and God. Now then, we may well know how things go - how God had set the one tree aside and commanded them not to eat from it only to have them do just that. A closer look though shows a bit more to the story. For instance, what "exactly" happened that day following Adam and Eve chowing down on something they should not have. We will pick things up there (there will be a paraphrasing - do not panic).
Adam and Eve are hiding because they now know what shame and guilt are, something they previously never experienced. , when God pops in for a visit. Now God knows what has happened, but like many parents, He wants to hear it. So He asks Adam, "Uh, Adam, what's the deal bud? Did you eat something you shouldn't have?" To which Adam replies, "It's not my fault! It's the fault of 'that woman' that YOU made for me. She's flawed or something. Obviously, You made a mistake." So God turns to Eve and asks, "What happened exactly?" Eve's reply is that the serpent tricked her - he lied and she believed him - so she did eat from the tree.
I want you to notice the two different reactions here. Eve's version of events are pretty accurate. She was tricked and she had no frame of reference for knowing that someone would lie to her to hurt her, so she believed what she was told and, even though God said otherwise, she ate. Basically, she has taken responsibility for what she has done. She does not even blame the serpent directly for her actions - only for his part in them. Adam on the other hand, blames everyone else, including God Himself. Adam takes the stance that none of this is his fault at all - oh no, it is everyone else's fault that this has happened to 'poor little me', is basically how he responds. In my humble opinion, Adam may well have been the world's first spoiled brat.
I do not know about you, but it makes me wonder. What if? What if instead of blaming everyone and everything else, Adam had of "fessed up" and taken responsibility for his own actions? We know that our God is forgiving, understanding, gracious and merciful after all - if Adam had of confessed and taken responsibility for what he had done, would the consequences have been near so severe? Now granted, that is a hypothetical question to which we will never know the answer but it does give one pause to think.
That said, I have a question for you: which one are you? Are you Adam or are you Eve?
The question has nothing to do with your physical sex. It has to do with your reactions. When you rebel against God (sin), do you take responsibility for your own actions? Do you admit that you were tempted and that you gave in to that temptation? That it was, in fact, "tempting" to you. Or do you blame everyone and everything else? "Oh is not my fault that I am doing this or that, it is "so and so's" fault! They made me do this. They pushed me." (And who is this mysterious "they" person anyway? I know that "they" seem to be the cause of oodles of problems and "they" always seem to have something to say about everything.) Truth be told, it is called temptation because it is tempting but you do not have to give in at all, especially if you have the Spirit dwelling within you. You have a choice, regardless of what life you have or have not lived, or the people you have known.
Anyway, by the time it hits the point of you giving in and actually 'doing something', you have already been allowing thoughts of such similar things to roam freely and unchecked in your mind for some time. Here is a solid tip: head them off early. Easier to put them down when they are mere thoughts or ideas than it is to deal with them after they have become full blown. And if they are full blown now? Stop blaming other people or circumstances - including blaming your own humanity - stop running away or trying to hide from God - take responsibility for your own thoughts and actions and confess those to Him (obviously, stop doing <whatever> as well).
In short: repent, be saved, be healed and live.
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