Shame

Genesis 3:6-9

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

All the things that the serpent said were good things, Eve rationalized.

Rationalized.

There's that word again. Do you begin to get the picture that when something requires "rationalization" it is NOT good?

So, Eve rationalized. Then she ate the fruit. It was soooo good! Her senses were enhanced. And, best of all, she wasn't dead, yet!

How many drug addicts start their addictions the exact same way?

Whats worse is, since it was so good, she wanted to share it with her husband!

When he saw that she didn't die and when he heard what she was saying and could see how happy she was, he wanted it for himself. So, he took took the fruit and ate it.

Evil is contagious. That is why we struggle today. We have the virus that has been handed down to us for generations. The only treatment for it is the Blood of Jesus!

The fruit had a side effect. Now they knew they were naked and were ashamed. They knew God would know what they did and they tried to cover it up.

When God came looking for them, they hid, because they were ashamed.

How many times do you do bad things and then seclude yourself because you don't want to let anyone know? When you feel that God is far away from you, is it because God has removed Himself, or rather, is it because YOU have removed yourself from His presence because you know you are wrong?