I often ponder the story of the Garden of Eden and man's expulsion from it on account of their eating from a forbidden tree. The whole idea of God being upset that now man had obtained knowledge that made him like God, and that it was somehow bad, I have never fully understood. I have a theory that it was not so much about the knowledge but about the concept of trying to receive the blessing without doing the work.

This is what I believe happened.

The reason that God was upset that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil is because they believed that by taking a short cut, they could become like God.

Some people think that God didn't want his people to become like Him or to know the knowledge He knows, but my opinion is that He wanted nothing more than for His people to have that understanding.

The tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil symbolized man's desire to obtain understanding without God.

It is my opinion that if Adam and Eve would have continued in the garden, listening to God and asking Him questions and learning, and applying what they learned, they would have obtained all of the knowledge of both the world and of God. The difference is that God would have told them, but it would have been through experience, work, relationships, prayer and a dedicated seeking of God and His ways.

The allure of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil is that it provided the quick fix to this knowledge: just eat of the fruit and you will instantly be like God, no need to put the work in.

The curse God gave to both Adam and Eve seemed to me to be one of enforcing the idea that they will have to work in order to receive any of the blessings in life such as children or food.

This is where we are today. We are in the age of short cuts, quick fixes, a patience is not a virtue but a curse generation. It's very easy to want to find an alternative way to obtain divine knowledge, understanding, and blessings without having to go through the growth and refining that God desires.

Still...Although I am aware of the right thing to do, I do still feel the desire to eat of that tree sometimes and that causes me to have sympathy for Adam and Eve in their sin.

The fact is that the path of hard work and diligence is the path to lasting success in any endeavor including the endeavor to become like God and that is the mindset we should seek to possess.

"You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13