Eve's Temptation

Here is a question I've seen on the internet.

If the Garden of Eden was a perfect paradise as Christians claim, then why 
did Eve even want to eat the apple? Wouldn't a perfect place provide 
everything a person would want or desire and thus she would want nothing?


First, it wasn't an apple but that's beside the point.

You would think that Eve would have been perfectly happy in Eden, so why did she sin? The same question can be asked of us today.  Why is it that the best way to get someone to do something is to tell him he can't? Humans are always attracted to the forbidden. Tell us a million things we can do and only one we can't and we will still want to do the one we can't. A millionaire still wants more money. A man with a happy marriage still is tempted to adultery.

Let's look at how the serpent talked Eve into taking the fruit.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)

This is how the Bible describes temptations.
"lust of the flesh" It feels good. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food," (Genesis 3:6) The serpent probably talked to Eve while she was hungry. Satan attacks us when we are already weak.

"lust of the eyes" It looks good. "And when the woman saw.... that it was
pleasant to the eyes," (Genesis 3:6) The tree didn't look evil. It was probably
pretty.

"pride of life" It sounds good. "And when the woman saw that the tree was....  to be desired to make one wise,"  (Genesis 3:6)  The fruit would give her and Adam an ability they didn't have before. How many times do we want something not because we need it but just because someone else has one and we don't.

There is nothing evil about desire. Desires are necessary for survival. The desires to eat, drink, reproduce, gain possessions etc, are needed to perpetuate the human specie. But we need to realize that when God says "no"  that's it. We should no longer dwell on that desire. God gives us everything we need. It's when our wants overpower our needs that evil begins.

Another thing to notice, Eve's sin was not eating the fruit. Eve committed the sin when she decided to disobey God. God judges our intents, before our actions. Once we seriously consider the sin, the sin has already been committed. (Matthew 5-6)