While some have interpreted this second creation story as evidence that women are both inferior to men and the reason for the downfall of humanity, that’s really not what it’s about. This story is about broken relationship. The serpent sparks doubt about the importance of listening to God and we can almost imagine Eve beginning to reason with herself, “Really, what harm could it do?” Adam is there and he eats too. In that moment, they are suddenly aware of their nakedness and feel the weight of shame for having disobeyed. If you go a bit further in the reading, neither of them want to take accountability. Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent.
To what degree does the pattern of your own sin follow this one: temptation, reasoning with yourself, denying accountability or trying to justify your choice, and then suffering the consequence of your actions? What are some tools that help you disrupt that pattern at the outset? How might taking accountability for your mistakes affect the resulting consequences? Today, think of a time when you committed a sin. It doesn’t need to be a “big” one. It might have been something as seemingly insignificant as saying a harsh word to your spouse or to the tech support person on the phone.
Take that sin through the pattern as described above. What was the temptation? Did you reason it out or did you commit it without thought? Did you take accountability? What was the consequence? Now offer a simple prayer of confession to God, offering no excuses. Find assurance that because of God’s steadfast love, you are forgiven.