Honesty with God

Our problem with deception and hiding is a tale as old as time. Adam and Eve were created and placed in the Garden to tend it and care for it (Gen. 2:7-8). They were completely free…completely whole. They lived with zero guilt and shame. As a matter of fact, they had so little shame and insecurity that they didn’t even wear clothes (Gen. 2:25).

We all know what happened. Deception. The snake didn’t come in and say “Why are you listening to God?” or “You should sin. It’s really fun.” Nope, he snuck in with “Did God really say?” and “He only said that to hold you back.” (Gen 3:1-7)

The first ever lie wasn’t all that obvious. Instead, it was seeds of doubt that appealed to human pride.

“Does God really know what He’s talking about? Who is He to tell us what we can and cannot do? I bet His rules are there to make us miserable and keep us trapped. Surely nothing really bad would happen if we fulfill that one desire of our flesh. Maybe we would even find something better than what God has designed for us.”

In this way, we still deceive ourselves today. We think that we might know better than God. Even though we get to read exactly where that got Adam and Eve.

The Bible says that the first result of believing a lie was a direct mental shift. They were no longer free and whole. Suddenly, they were aware of their nakedness and their smallness. (Gen 3:7) The shame of giving into deception motivated them to hide…from God…the One who created them. The One they’d disobeyed. Their eyes were opened to good and evil just as Satan had promised, only they saw for themselves that they were now on the side of evil.

The second consequence of believing a lie was that now every single one of us has to wear clothes. I’m kidding. Clothes aren’t so bad…most of the time.

The second consequence of believing a lie was a detrimental physical shift. The couple would no longer be able to live in the Garden of perfection. Instead, they would be sent away under the curse of broken and hard. Living would require struggle and pain and discomfort. (Gen 3:23) The curse of giving into deception meant that they could no longer experience perfection. They were banished to the world of good and evil that they’d risked everything for, with the memory of the world they’d once been a part of where evil was never a concern.

The third consequence of believing a lie and hiding from God was a devastating spiritual shift. No longer could Adam and Eve walk and talk with God in easy relationship. The trust had been broken and the damage done. They had chosen to believe and trust a slippery tongued animal over their loving Provider and Creator. All God was doing by putting distance between Himself and them was giving them what they wanted…their own way. (Gen 3:24)

The choice of giving into deception sowed seeds of doubt into the world. From that moment on, we all would be susceptible to the pride that tricks us into thinking we know better than God and the tendency to hide that keeps us from being honest.

You know what is really interesting after all of this mess that Adam and Eve made when they stopped being honest?

God’s response.

Here’s how the conversation went.

God: “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9)

Weird, right? He’s God. Of course, He knew where they were. But God was still after their hearts. I mean, He could have stormed into the Garden and snatched man up, destroyed him, and made another. After all, He’d warned them that they would die if they disobeyed. Instead, He gives man a chance to admit.

Adam: “I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked.” (Gen 3:10)

Still such a fascinating conversation. Adam had been naked since God had created him. Yet, he’d never experienced this fear before. His fear came from knowing that he’d directly disobeyed God. He was now self-aware. His eyes had been opened exactly as the serpent had said, but he didn’t like what he saw.

God: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen 3:11)

Gosh, this sounds like all of my parenting skills right here. How many times have I said to my own “Child, did you do exactly what I told you not to do?” We want to give them every opportunity to tell the truth. We want to make sure they know where they messed up, so that we can help them to never make the same mistake again.

Adam: “The woman You put here with me…she gave me the fruit and I ate it.” (Gen 3:12)

Hilarious. Adam distanced himself from everyone he loved in one flailing swoop. He blamed God for His gift and His gift for his sin. Blame is another way that we are dishonest, justifying ourselves because someone else did something worse.

God to Eve: “What is this you have done?” (Gen 3:13a)

God didn’t talk to Eve through Adam…He spoke directly to Eve. He gave her the exact same opportunity to admit that He’d given Adam.

Eve: “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (Gen 3:13b)

There it is. The root of the whole universal shift. Deception. She was drawn away from honesty and the result was disobedience that led to destruction.

There is the formula.

Deception and dishonesty lead to disobedience and disobedience leads to destruction of design.

God proceeds to inform Adam and Eve of all the ways that they have broken the world with their decision. He then strikes them with lightning and starts over. Kidding, again. He doesn’t. He details the consequences of their decision, but then He looks down at their fig leaves and like any good parent decides they need better covering. He makes them clothes (Gen 3:21). He couldn’t and won’t stop providing for His kids…even when they mess everything up.

But now that their eyes are opened to good and evil, God has to ban them from that Garden. Not because He doesn’t love them, but because there is a tree in the Garden that will keep them forever in their new broken state if they eat of it. For their own good, God had to keep them from that tree. After all, He already had a plan to free them from the curse. (Gen 3:22)

Let’s talk about that plan and what it did and didn’t do for us.

Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection gave us the pathway to reconnect with God. We now have the opportunity to overcome. The curse of sin and death no longer has a hold on us. We are back in the proverbial Garden of Eden spiritually. (Rom 5:17)

But that serpent, the devil, he is still slithering around too. “Did God really say ALL your sins were forgiven?” “Did God really say that ANYONE can come to Jesus?” “Did God really say that you have an Advocate with the Father when you sin?”

And suddenly, we are sewing together self-righteous fig leaves to try to cover ourselves. We are trying to pay penance for our imperfection while pretending that we are perfect. We are excusing and justifying and blaming instead of bringing it to the One who can actually fix it.

“You desire Truth in the inmost being.” Psalm 51:6

Why? Because until we can admit the problem, we will never be rid of it.

God: “Where are you?”

Us: “What do you mean, God? I’m fine. Nothing to see here. Everything’s good.”

God: “Did you do the thing that I commanded you not to do?”

Us: “God, I read my Bible every day. I pray. I go to church. I am a good person. Nothing for you to deal with here.”

In this way, we allow sin and shame to pile up inside of us, shifting us mentally, physically, and spiritually. We can’t make it right until we’re honest.

God: “Where are you?”

Us: “Well, God. I got really angry today. I didn’t say all the things I was thinking, but I felt them. I screamed at that person in my head and I hated them in my heart. I am so sorry. Please forgive me and help me do better.”

God: “Did you do the thing I commanded you not to do?”

Us: “Yes, I did, Lord. Again. I did. I watched that show that riles up the lust in me and leaves me discontented. I know it’s bad for me, but I like it. Why do I keep on gravitating towards it? Dig up the root of this issue and help me conquer this.”

God doesn’t want our perfection if it’s not honest. As a matter of fact, He will spew it out of His mouth. We don’t ever do ourselves any favors by walking around and quoting Scriptures while shoving down the obstinate feelings we are struggling with.

You know why? Because those feelings are pointing to something. There’s a root there that needs to be conquered. There’s a deception there needs to be unveiled. There’s a void that needs attention.

Don’t cover your issues with religious platitudes. Bring them to Jesus. In full disclosure, lay them at His feet. Stop decorating yourself with greenery and trying to blend into the Christian landscape.

Come out and let Him clothe you. Because of Jesus, you don’t have to fear the curse. You have peace with God if you’ll only be honest.