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I feel there is a need to write to my brothers in Christ
on the subject of responsibility. In this era of total equality,
with such an emphasis on personal freedoms and rights, we
have (as men) drifted away from personal responsibility as
well as the idea that we have responsibility for the actions
of our families. By this I mean that we have fallen under
the delusion that everyone is responsible only for themselves
and themselves alone. And even this has fallen victim to the
"if it feels good it must be right" philosophy.
We have even managed to delude ourselves that we are not even
responsible for ourselves.
Men, I say and can show biblically that men have the greater
responsibility to God and our families, especially as husbands
and men of leadership. However, this does apply to single
men that may only lead themselves. Let’s start with an example
that we are all familiar with. Genesis
3:1-24 I am not going to quote the whole chapter,
you will have to go to the book and read it to confirm what
I have to say. Let’s look at the steps involved up to and
including Adams exit from the presence of God and the garden.
First off when Satan needed to deceive someone the first thing
he did was seek out the woman. Here is why I feel Satan did
that. In Genesis
2:16-18, "And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely: but
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely
die*(dying the death you shall surely die).’" So in verse
18 we see that God then created Eve, "then the Lord God
said, ‘it is not good for the man to be alone: I will make
him a helper suitable for him." My interpretation of
this statement is that Eve wasn't there when God said it,
but Adam told her about it later. Perhaps hearing it from
Adam did not impress her the way it would have had God said
it to her. I believe Satan took advantage of that fact. Anyway,
Satan misquotes God by implying that the death God spoke of
was immediate and as we know it took many years for them both
to die, but they did indeed die. So she ate. It seems Eve
did not feel any ill effects from eating the fruit, but she
liked it and it did seem to give her knowledge and pleasure.
So she gave it to Adam. Now keep in mind Adam did get the
warning directly from God. Now as soon as Adam ate, the consequence
of his action came crashing down on them. Guilt filled his
heart suddenly, a guilt Eve did not feel at first. When God
saw what happened punishment was swift and sure and gentlemen
here is the verse that clinches this example, Genesis
3:17 "Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have
listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the
tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘you shall not eat
from it’: Curse is the ground because of you...’" Folks
it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this out. Adam knew
better, he had spoken directly to God on the subject and it
was his action that drew the greater condemnation.
I want you guys to notice an important fact about the consequences
of our sins. Genesis
3:16 "To the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply
your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children;
yet you desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule
over you.'" Men, you can see that Eve's sin affected her and
her alone. Granted it was a really bad punishment, but let's
look at what happened because of Adams sin. Genesis 3:17-19
"then to Adam He said, 'because you have listened to the voice
of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded
you, saying, ' You shall not eat from it; Cursed is the ground
because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of
your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of
your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,
because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust
you shall return." Notice that the punishment Adam received
affected not only himself, but the entire world. "Cursed is
the ground because of you;" the entire world was affected
by what men have done and by what they do today. James 5:16,
" Therefore, confess you sins to one another, and pray for
one another, so that yo may be healed. The effective prayer
of a righteous man can accomplish much." Everytime we obey
the word of God in understanding and truth the world becomes
a little bit of a better place.
Footnote:
*I do not speak Hebrew but my understanding from my studies
is that the literal translation from the Hebrew for that passage
is "Dying the death you shall surely die." God was
saying that the knowledge of good and evil will begin the
process of corruption if misused and as we know they did die.
Also by implication they would not have died had they not
done what they did.
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