Bible Story (Genesis Edition; Part I)

The First Mistake

Before we go to discuss about the story of Adam & Eve, I'd like to ask my dear readers, about your own story. 

For a moment, please think about one of the biggest mistakes that you have in your life, and why do you do that. 

After that, please think about how you feel after you've done it. Is it full of regret? Sadness? Disappointment? 

Well, they're not easy questions to be answered and even to share, but the point of these questions are not to make us feel bad, but more as an early guidance for us to grasp the story, so that we could have a little sympathy for Adam & Eve in this story. We sometimes wander & curious, did the world would be different or even better, if Adam & Eve didn't eat the fruit? Possibly, it's one of the biggest questions that no one still knows the answer, right?

Adam & Eve are the first human in the world & therefore they were also the ones that disobey God. But this event has haunted me for sometimes, does God really want a totally obedient human? If so, why don't He just create robots or even animals? They won't hesitate or doubt His authority for a second and will always obey to Him. Why did He create human in the first place, and after several studies plus doing a little research, there's this book that interest me; 'Naked & Not Ashamed' by T.D. Jakes, and it's said in this book that Adam could've been forgiven if only he run toward God instead of away from Him.

The biggest mistake that Adam has made as a human, is to not eat the forbidden fruit, but it's about his respond after he has been self-conscious. When Adam has gained the knowledge of good & evil (not just bad), he afraid of his own nakedness and try to cover it up. He became so afraid and fail to trust God even though he knew that God is always gentle & kind to him. Perhaps the writer is talking about the nature of human being. When we see ourselves completely, it's always scared us. It makes us feel weak, small, and even dirty. And of course, we never wanted to show our nakedness to other people, so we cover ourselves up. It also might be the reason, why we as humans lie so much. It's better to be a good man than an honest man.

In this story, it also shows us that Adam is not just stupid, he's pathetic. He hides from God that is almighty, and I'm pretty sure he knew that God could see him everywhere. And when God found him, and he was questioned by God, why did he eat the forbidden fruit, he answered with the most annoying answer ever. Not by recognizing his own failure, or by being honest to God that he had failed, he blames Eve for his mistakes and even blames God, Himself, for bringing Eve into the world (Well, well, well, good job Adam!).

Is it possible that the story would go differently, if only Adam choose to respond differently?

What if instead of hiding, he chooses to face God? He admitted his mistakes & asked for forgiveness unto Him. Or before that, instead of trying to make a cloth out of leaves, he looked into Eve deeply, and say that her body is beautiful. And possibly, not just his wife's body, but reflect into his own body and embrace the nakedness. Would it be a better story? So, even though they both were still exiled by God, for eating the forbidden fruit, this would be a perfect example for the people, even in the modern era, a lesson about self-conscious, honesty, and nakedness.

We can all agree that being self-conscious is extremely scary! Even though it's enlightening, it reveals ourselves completely and not just the good part, but also the bad, scary, and evil part of us. It makes an innocent soul like Adam, fall into pieces, shock, and do extremely bad things to God, to his wife, and the worst part, to himself. He scared of himself, once he became self-conscious. Perhaps that's the main reason, why there isn't a lot of people that dare to be self-conscious. We prefer ourselves to be distracted and lied by the world, to make us feel good.

Being self-conscious means to be aware & recognize ourselves, completely. And that's the first step and the only way to grow. Once people start to accept the fact that they are not a perfect creature, that's the first revelation that will lead us to the right path. Accept the vulnerabilities & embrace them, instead of trying to hide them. Hiding them will only result into an imbalance soul. That's the only way to God; to realize our own dark sides & let ourselves fill with His power to turn it into good. A hard lesson in a very early chapter of the Bible.