Truth or Error.
Or is it Truth and Error?
Lucifer likes to mix them in the same sentence. He is the great deceiver, the great liar. He takes true principles, truth, and intertwines them with falsehoods, error. That is why it is so difficult to separate them. They are mixed together.
Some people do this too. (Politicians, anyone?)
Sometimes we call these "half truths," or speaking with a "forked tongue."
In the beginning, Eve was in the Garden of Eden. She and Adam had varied interests, as they were not always together. That slippery serpent, finding Eve alone, approached her with an option. First he engaged her in a lively conversation about trees, asking her if God told her she "could not eat the fruit of any of the trees."
She replied that they could eat from all of them but one -- the one in the middle of the garden, were they to even touch it, would surely cause them to die.
The adversary quickly explained to her that she could eat from that tree as well, that she would not die...
“Ye shall not surely die (the error): For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (the truth)" (Genesis 2:4-5).
Now, Eve could not have known if Mr Serpent was telling her all truth, because she did not have the necessary knowledge. She could not, at that stage in the garden, become like the gods, knowing good and evil, truth and error. I guess that's why we call it a transgression instead of a sin.
Her eyes were not open yet.
There was no other way for her to learn but to fall; to take the first step. Her eyes were opened when she chose to partake of the fruit. It was then that she saw the truth of the serpent's statement. She recognized him as Lucifer; later she would understand the lie -- when she died.
Many religions see Eve as making a big, bad mistake -- a big bad sinner, that Eve.
But I do not.
She took the necessary step to become mortal, to learn the difference of light and dark, good and evil, pain and pleasure.
God's plan required it to be her choice.
God wants us to choose. He will not force us to do right. We must act on our own. Freedom is necessary so that we get to learn the joy of choosing good over evil. Through choice, we can feel the pain of making mistakes, and realize the happiness of knowing there is a way back. All suffering need not be in vain.
Eve was the example. She made the right choice, and she recovered from the fall when Christ became the Savior.
It is all part of the plan.
As parents, we must understand that our children will make mistakes, but that they have to be given the chance to choose. At a certain age, all kids want to do things for themselves, and make choices on their own. We can protect them for a long time, but eventually, they must choose for themselves.
This also is all a part of the plan.
We can discern between truth and error, although it may be difficult at times. We must realize that everywhere we look, we may find one intertwined with the other, and exercise our ability to separate them, choosing the good over the evil.
Deila is the mom of five kids, who looks for the deeper meaning of life’s joys and struggles on planet earth. You can find her in: Eve out of the Garden, at http://deilataylor.blogspot.com
Photo via flickr
