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By Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky
Special to the Rappahannock News
The Devil is a gentleman. He does not tempt us with horrible and repulsive things. He tempts us with what appears to be pleasing and good. But only God gives us gifts that are truly good.
God placed Adam and Eve in Paradise with one condition: Do not eat the fruit from the tree of life. The requirement was simple. Obedience to God’s command ensured that they would worship Him in freedom and not presume to be His equal. The reward of this obedience was simple as well. Do not disobey God and you will live and be happy with Him.
Had the first parents obeyed, they and their descendants would have enjoyed the perfect happiness of Eden. Not a bad deal.
The Devil, on the other hand, knows how to incite us to break covenants with his diabolical charm. He seduced Eve with a lie.
On the surface, it seemed very pleasant, because the devil is a gentleman. “You certainly will not die!” he insisted, if she ate from the tree of life. Then the Devil argued that by eating fropi the tree of life, Adam and Eve “will be like gods who know' what is good and what is evil.” What could be the harm in that?
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