The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’” vs. 12
Genesis 3:11-15
The ancient storytellers nailed it in this account of divine-human interaction in the Garden of Eden. When the man is confronted by the Lord there isn’t a hint of remorse and certainly no acknowledgement of guilt. Already alienated, the man shifts the blame to the woman, and ultimately to God. This big mess is not his fault at all! And that’s pretty much the human dilemma in a nutshell–we inhabit a world full of God’s richest blessings, and we act as though anything goes, imagining that there are no limits. And when we rebel against those limits and predictable disaster follows, our first impulse is to assess blame. And what’s saddest of all, because so many folks read this literally, women have historically been the ones picked to bear responsibility for humanity’s sin. Through the centuries women have been abused and discounted in every generation and every nation–and it’s still going on. Who is responsible for the breakdown of the family and the decline of morality? For too many people the answer is the same as the one given by Adam–it’s the women’s fault! And what’s ironic is that, for the most part, it’s been women who have held things together in our civilizations! It’s in them that the light of Christ has always shone most brightly, and it’s about time that we put all the blaming to rest. Sin isn’t anyone’s fault–it just is!
Thought for the Day: How has women’s status changed in recent years?
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