More Repetition

Genesis 3 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

Genesis 3

4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall

not surely die:

5For G-d 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.



Whether you say history repeats itself, or

history rhymes, all the same, the passage from

Genesis 3 goes a long way to explain things that

we see happen every day. Folks never seem to

tire of repetition.


If I were to paraphrase the passage, I'd say

'...ye shall be ass gods, knowing good and doing

evil...' Stop and consider who's speaking in

this passage. It's the serpent. He's not

telling the truth, he's making stuff up. He's

persuading the woman to cooperate with his scheme

to disturb the peace in Eden, and either give

Adam fits, or get G-d to destroy them. This

would be the serpent's ambition. He wants to

turn them into 'gods' after his own likeness and

in his own image. The serpent is playing 'god'.

Well, here we are, still giving him exactly what

he wants. We're playing into his 'be as gods'

lie. The front page story from the other day

says everything that we need to know about how it

works out when we try to play G-d's role.


There's a difference between what the serpent

says and what he really means. He makes a

promise that if we do things his way, or our own

way, or any way except God's way, that we will

gain a personal advantage and proceed along the

path to personal greatness. Of course, it's all

a big lie. But it is an appealing lie. We want

to believe that it's possible to serve selfish

ambition and enjoy a positive outcome. As in the

front page story, there is a desire to enjoy the

pleasure of an illicit relationship, there is the

hope of fulfillment. But in fact, that hope is

another false illusion, that we are ever eager to

give in to.


Basically, people are as happy and content as

they choose to be, in spite of their

circumstances. Many years ago, I was traveling

on a bus, across the western U.S. The bus was

almost full. It was another of my early

adventures. Busses and trains are alot more fun

than airplanes. And I've traveled more than my

fair share of air miles. Air travel has really

gone downhill over the years, unless you can

manage first class. What I really wanted to do

was to see the western states on either

motorcycle or bicycle, but was discouraged from

that by family members who thought it too risky.

Oh, maybe some day. The gentleman seated next to

me was chattering away about this and that. As

usual, I didn't have much to say. Just trying to

be polite and listen. Then he said something

that for some reason struck me, and it's stuck

with me all these years. He said that people

were basically what they wanted to be. If they

were a drunk, it was because that's what they

wanted to be. Before then, I had never heard it

put that way. Now, I see shadows of that right

here in Genesis 3. If Eve wanted to be content,

she could have been. She had it all... except

that one thing that G-d said she couldn't have.

So typical. Do you really think that the man

involved in the front page murder was going to

find contentment in an illicit relationship?

Come on. It's the same thing that so many people

these days want to believe. The problem is not

in me, the problem is the other person. So

serial marriage becomes normal behavior. People

don't see that they are only going to be as happy

as they want to be, no matter who they live with.

Oh. I'll admit, some people are not as easy to

live with as others. But the choice to know

contentment is a separate issue altogether, and

has little to do with circumstance. You have to

choose contentment. It's an option.


Another thing that I've never seen is a woman

skipping happily into an abortion mill. Years

ago, when the opportunity was there, I used to

spend time with abortion protesters. I was

always glad that the police had a presence,

because otherwise the other side would have

gotten out of hand. The lesson I took away from

the experience was that I would attend an event,

and then read the newspaper account. What I read

in the newspaper, was never what I saw on the

ground. It was a firsthand experience of the

fact that the newspaper is just another extension

of the entertainment media. There is little

factual information to be gleaned from newpaper

accounts of events that are covered with the

implicit goal of serving an editorial agenda.

That's just the way it is. I was there. And I

never saw an expression of the wonder and awe

that choice provides such sweet liberty.


If you look around, you'll see that there is

always an option to find satisfaction. My own

situation is not to my liking. There are things

that surround me that are not to my satisfaction.

There are some things that I can't change about

my circumstance. There are people who would

prefer it if I just did what they wanted me to do

instead of what I think best. It strikes me as

odd that, even under unfavorable circumstances I

find a sense of satisfaction. Not because my

situation is perfect, but because I expect that

sooner or later, circumstances will improve. Not

by making other's change their bad habits, but by

taking on personal responsibility for my own

sense of well being. I don't labor under the

illusion that there is satisfaction to be found

in believing the lie that I can be like a god.

Genuine satisfaction is found in serving the

desires of the one true G-d, rather than serving

self. Doing what others do, is not what gives me

comfort. I have an option to find satisfaction,

and to improve my circumstances. Ideally, that

would include the satisfaction and improvement of

circumstances of others. But I don't see that I

can offer much to those who wish to be as gods,

except to point out that it's an empty promise.


In over five thousand years of recorded history,

people haven't changed that much. As far as I

can tell, there is an aspect of human nature that

fails to accept responsibility for personal

satisfaction. The account in Genesis 3, provides

an explanation. It describes the interaction

between G-d, man and the serpent. The serpent

being a metaphorical expression for Satan, the

god of this present world. He still makes

promises that he will never be able to keep. And

people still want to believe that it is just so.

Prozac helps.