We are still eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Here’s why.
God set the moral standard
God prepared and gave us everything we need, except for one thing. Genesis 2:16-17 says:
“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Aside from giving the first couple, Adam and Eve, a chance to practice the gift of freedom, what else do the verses imply?
That the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was already there when God showed it to Adam. God made the tree alone, not with Adam’s help.
This means that God already defined what is good and what is evil. In other words, God set the standard of morality. We, as His creatures, ought to obey out of love and respect. After all, He knows what’s best for us.
Touching and eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil means messing up with God’s definition of what is good and what is evil.
We think we can do better
This is our problem as human beings since the beginning. We always think we can do better than God. We set our own definition of what is right and what is wrong.
| When God said | We say |
| “You shall not bow down to any graven image.” (Exo 20) | “Uhmmm. It’s just a representation. We’re not worshipping it.” |
| “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exo 20) | “‘OMG’ and ‘Jesus Christ!’ are just way of expressing. It means no harm.” |
| “Sex and intimacy are for married couples only.” (Jude 1:7-8; 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 Cor. 7:2) | “No. That’s not liberty nor progressive, and as old as Jurassic” |
| “Marriage is only between a man and a woman.” (Gen. 2:18-25; Rom. 1:26-28) | No. Marriage can be for the same gender and that’s real love.” |
| “Marry only one wife (or husband).” (1 Tim. 3:2; Eph. 5:23) | Many are re-marrying and it’s legal in some states and countries. Afterall, the Bible has many polygamysts.” |
| “Jesus is your only Mediator between God and man.” (1 Tim. 2:5) | “Dead saints can also pray for us. Mary is also our mediatrix.” |
| “You may eat all clean food and avoid those that I did not define as food.” (Lev. 11) | “No. I will declare unclean as clean and eat whatever I want. This is my body.” |
| “I set the seventh-day as Sabbath. Remember to keep it holy.” (Exo. 20:8; Heb. 4:4-10) | “No. I set any day as my rest day and decide whether to keep the whole day holy or not.” |
| “When you received your increase, give Me first the tenth of it.” (Gen. 14:19-20; Matt. 23:23) | “No. Tithing is an old system. I’m giving my offering anyway.” |
| “Put on the robe of righteousness that I freely give.” (Isa. 59:17) | “I define what righteousness means, and mine is sufficient enough.” |
| “I will destroy this planet and make a new one where sin and death are gone.” (2 Peter 3:11-12) | “No. With our technology and science, we can make this earth a better place.” |
| “Separate the church and state.” (Matthew 22:21) | “No. The state should implement religious ceremonies and traditions.” |
| “My heart defined what is good and what is evil. I am expecting you to follow it. I am your God.” (2 Peter 3:11-12) | “No. My motto is: Do What Thou Wilt”. I will follow my heart.” |
These are only a few of many instances where we continue to touch and eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is how stubborn we are, and we never learn.
Time and again, the Bible keeps on reminding us to:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time…”
1 Peter 6:5-7 NIV
Setting own morality is making self a god
Who instigated and cultured this thinking that humanity can set their own moral standards? Genesis 3 tells us this:
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5 NIV
And so, when we define our own moral standards, we automatically elevate ourselves as gods and obey the Old Serpent, the Devil. Making ourselves as gods is a violation of the first commandment, that is what the devil wants from us. Should we give in?
The consequence of defining our own morality
God Himself said that death is the consequence of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The moment we define our own morality, obeys it, and continue to do so means we are hindering ourselves from partaking the fruit from the Tree of Life; which ultimately means death.
Rebellion and willful disobedience cannot co-exist with a loving Creator. Out of God’s love, He will not allow humanity to suffer from sorrow, pain, and death while living for eternity.
Man-made morality into law
In the end times, this continued rebellion against God will finally be put into man-made laws to force the people to yield their allegiance to the human authorities instead of God’s (Revelation 13:15-18).
One of those man-made definitions of morality, i.e. the same-sex marriage, is already into national laws in many countries all over the globe. It is glorified as “love trumps hate”.
Do you know of another man-made standard that will be put into national law soon?
May these questions continue to ring in our thoughts:
Should we continue to touch and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
Who defines our moral standards: God? Hollywood movies? social media? media personalities? friends? books? ourselves?