Introduction

In the first creation story (chapter 1), everything was good.

In the second creation (chapter 2), everything was still good. 

Adam and Eve were united in harmony:

This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! (Genesis 2:23)

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:25)

But you see a foreshadowing of some issues to come. You see a little crack in the beautiful, perfect creation with the two trees.

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die. (Genesis 2:16-17)

This post is a summary of Week 1 of the 2025 Fall Friday series. To learn more about this series, go to the Fall Fridays Main Page.

What Accompanies Freedom

Why did God create the two trees?

Without the second tree, life would have been much easier. It would have been problem free.

What is the writer of Genesis saying?

He is saying that life does not work that way. God gave humans the freedom to choose.

This story reveals that life is a struggle between permission and prohibition.

We have the freedom to choose, but we also have the responsibility for our choices.

Freedom. Choice. Responsibility.

Life is about having a good balance between the three.

Freedom without boundaries is not freedom.

Freedom is not doing whatever you want to do. That sort of freedom is bondage to yourself.

True freedom is being free from yourself.

Freedom from your darkness, your greed, your sins.

Freedom is the power to do what is right. That is the true path to happiness.

St. Paul had great insight about this:

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become enslaved to one another. (Galatians 5:13)

For freedom to be freedom, it is always accompanied by an essential ingredient: temptation.

Reflection Question: Have you been living with a good balance of freedom, choice and responsibility? Have you emphasized one more than others, or neglected any of the three?

The Nature of Tempation

We do not know anything about the serpent: who it is, where it comes from.

What we know is that the serpent creates a crack in creation. The serpent represents the reality of temptation.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

This question looks innocent, but it is not. What’s wrong with this question?

The serpent wants Eve to focus on the prohibition.

God created so many things to enjoy. Adam and Eve had the pick of all creation.

Before the serpent came along, they did not pay much heed to the forbidden tree. They were enjoying all the rest of creation together.

But the serpent focuses attention on the forbidden tree. The serpent shifts their focus to what is limited, prohibited and restricted.

Temptation centers desire on what is limited, not what is abundant.

Temptation is not about what you do or do not do. Temptation is allowing the mind to be polluted by negative and dark thoughts. Especially around what you DON’T have.

Reflection Question: Have you been living with a good balance of freedom, choice and responsibility? Have you emphasized one more than others, or neglected any of the three?

Making Choices

Making choices is a complex process.

There are many layers.

Adam and Eve made their choice on how they felt in that moment.

The tree looked good and enticing. They followed their desire.

They would suffer because of their choice.

Oftentimes, we suffer for choices we make.

Making good choices requires wisdom and humility. 

Reflection Question: How can you make good choices in your life? Are there any choices you regret? If so, what led to those choices?

Their Eyes Were Opened

Once they ate from the forbidden tree, what happened?

Their eyes were opened.

But what were they opened to?

They were opened to shame.

Rather than good, they saw shame. They saw that they were naked and they hid. They hid themselves from God.

Their eyes were opened to the knowledge of good and evil. But knowing good and evil does not mean you have the power to do good.

Knowledge by itself has no power.

St. Paul recognized that contradiction in himself. He knew the good he wanted to do, but could not help himself from doing the evil he did not want to do. 

Spiritual growth opens our eyes to see ourselves as we really are. 

But the outcome of this is not shame. There is guilt, yes, and regret, yes. But that is the impetus and beginning of repentance that leads to grace.

Fracture in Creation

Adam and Eve discovered shame. That discovery led to a breakdown in their relationship. With both God and each other.

They hid from God.

They blamed each other for eating the fruit. 

“Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” became broken and fractured.

The good news is that even though the natural course of their choices was for them to die, God insisted on their life. 

God clothed them with garments, which symbolizes life.

Right from the beginning, we see the good news of God’s love flowing through creation.