6 Words That Will Change Your LifeSample

What was Adam and Eve’s first reaction after disobeying God? 

To cover their shame! 

Their disobedience destroyed their innocence and to this day, “fig leaves” are a euphemism for attempting to cover up embarrassment or shame.   

Their second reaction? To hide from God!  

Have you ever played a game of hide-and-seek with a toddler? They “hide” out in the open by covering their eyes with their hands. Sounds like Adam and Eve’s attempt to hide from God, doesn’t it?  

Of course, they couldn’t actually hide from God…but they tried, and we have been playing a cosmic game of hide-and-seek ever since. God searches for us, and we futilely hide in the leaves of religion and self-justification. Yet God has never stopped calling out “Where are you?” to our lost and broken world.  

Their third reaction? To point fingers! 

Adam blamed Eve—and even attempted to blame God with his whiny excuse, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” And when God questioned Eve, she blamed the serpent.  

All these millennia later, and we continue to use the blame game to cover our “mistakes.” From marital fights to congressional finger pointing, from ethnic cleansing to diplomatic posturing, we’ve made an art of pushing blame onto others.  

Adam was humankind’s spiritual representative before God. When Adam declared war on God through his rebellion, he was acting as our representative. As a result, the whole of humanity declared war on God. We see it in distressing news headlines, and we sense it in our own hearts when we are tempted to take judgment into our own hands. 

Adam and Eve’s defensive maneuvers might look pitifully inept to us, until we examine our own defensive strategies with God and others. 

Have you felt that uncomfortable conviction of the Holy Spirit?  Maybe you’ve responded defensively with a lame excuse like… 

“What I did earlier wasn’t so bad. At least I’m not like so-and-so…”  

“That really wasn’t my fault, God. If You’d only do something about that other person’s problem with…” 

If we can manage to hide our sin, then it’s not so bad, we tell ourselves. Or if it’s one of those socially acceptable sins, like the bad habit of gossip, no big deal. After all, everyone does those kinds of things.  

Duck and cover, hide and blame. We all do it. Ask yourself: 

• When it comes to sin, do you care more about God’s goodness or about what others would think of you if “they only knew”? 
• Is there an area of your life that comes to mind as you consider whether you’re guilty of sweeping your own sin under the rug or blaming others?  
• What are you going to do about your answers to these questions? 

Be honest before God, acknowledge your sin. Receive God’s forgiveness and love.