I Hate it When He’s Right

We’ve all been wrong. But recently, I was pretty sure I was right and she was wrong. But then, I had to admit, she was right. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last. And I thank the Lord that I married someone so stinkin’ smart.

So it was with some surprise as I was thinking again about Genesis 3 and the dreadful Fall of mankind from holiness to sinfulness, and found that most of what the Serpent said to Eve was actually - can we say it? - right.

In Genesis 3, Eve recounts (with slight revision) what God had forbidden - “don’t eat of the tree in the middle of the garden, or you will die.” Satan replied to her, “You surely will not die!” Well, Adam and Eve ate from that tree, and, they didn’t die, immediately. We would have expected them to drop dead. But they didn’t, though they would. And that’s not to mention the huge problem of eternal death, which was part of this dreadful deal, which they would now experience in place of eternal life. But, in a sense, he was right. Partly right. Deceptively right. I hate that.

The Serpent also said to Eve, “your eyes will be opened,” as if to say, “you will see things in a whole new light.” Who wouldn’t want their eyes opened? Except sometimes when you see something, you can never un-see it. Maybe it ruins the mystery. Maybe it stains the experience. But he was right. Verse 7: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened.” I hate it that he was right.

The Serpent promised that they would “know good and evil,” that is, to have an experience of both. They had already experienced good. Wasn’t that “good” enough? He was right. They “knew” evil, and they were ashamed. How exactly does one wash away the greasy film of stain from one’s soul? But, once again, he was right, and you and I both hate that he was right, and we hate the shame that goes with it.

There is one other thing that the Serpent said: “You will be like God.” On this point, he is not right. Oh, he wanted to be right. He himself wanted to be like God, and tried to usurp that status. And now, he wants us to make the same mistake and suffer the same fate. And, sometimes, in my worst moments, I hate it that he is, wrong. Because sometimes, I want the world to revolve around me. The world revolves only around God. And that’s a good thing to love.