“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” – Genesis 3:1
From the very beginning of the book of Genesis, we can see how a choice changed the world. And if you think that sounds dramatic, just stay with me. In the book of Genesis, everything was perfect in chapters 1 and 2. The place was perfect. The provisions were perfect. The people were perfect.
It was like heaven on earth. But then you come to chapter 3, and everything changed. And if you keep reading, you’ll notice that those changes carried over to chapter 4, where we see jealousy, anger, murder, lying, rebellion, greed, and judgment.
You say, “Why did everything change? What happened?” Well, chapter 3 happened! The changes that happened were consequences that resulted from a choice…a choice that was made in a single conversation.
That conversation was between a serpent and Eve. And in their dialogue, Adam and Eve got deceived by the devil, and he’s been deceiving people ever since. The conversation begins in Genesis 3:1 when the devil asked Eve a question.
The verse says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”
All it took was a single conversation. Satan questioned God’s authority. He questioned what God meant. And Eve LISTENED. My friend, that is all it takes. Just listening to the wrong person can lead to a choice you will regret for a long time.
Yesterday, we talked about listening to correction. And that is extremely important. But it is also important to make sure you are listening to the right people because it only takes a single conversation with the wrong person to change everything.
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Is it people who will give you wise counsel when you mess up? Or people who question your obedience to God? Voices lead to choices. It only takes a single conversation to change everything.
Make sure you are listening to the right voices, and don’t let the devil lead you to question God’s authority in your life.