I Can’t Believe I was so Deceived!

The confession of wrongdoing was shocking.

I felt stunned, flabbergasted, betrayed, and sucker-punched. My husband and I had invested a lot of time and energy into the relationship, and we had been conned.

We found out information from a variety of sources which confirmed new layers of deception. Trust was shattered, and the damage had been done.

How could we have been so deceived? It was unthinkable. I was confused, angry and incredibly hurt.

In retrospect, there were little signs and red flags along the way, but the person had been so convincing! We overlooked some danger signals in favor of mercy, compassion, and wanting to be Jesus with skin on to someone in dire straits.

This reminds me of another story.

The words spoken to Eve were smooth, calculated and persuasive. They were also confusing. God had said she would die if she ate of fruit from one tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This strange serpent had insisted that she would not die, but her eyes would be opened and she would be like God.

How could both be true? How were her eyes not open when she could see and experience all of the marvelous glory and beauty around her in the garden?

Could she really be more like God, her beloved Creator who walked with her and Adam, sharing deep truths about His plans for them and the mysteries of the world they inhabited? He was so mighty, and yet so gentle and caring. She adored Him and desired to spend every moment in His presence, learning all she could.

Aware of her newness and lack of knowledge, Eve was intrigued that there might be a faster way to become more like Him and to know what He knows. Perhaps just one little bite . . .what could be wrong with that?

Years later, perhaps Eve, too, wondered how she could have been so deceived. Why had she not listened to the warning signs when the words from the serpent didn’t match what God had said? How would life be different if her heart had been to obey God, not try on her own to be more like Him?

The first woman suffered the immeasurable anguish of knowing that her sin, with Adam’s participation, was the root cause which brought sin into the world, and her eldest son murdered his brother as a result.

Living for several hundred years, Eve saw how quickly the gangrene of disobedience and rebellion multiplied in their descendants. She knew how desperately this new world needed the Savior promised by God after the first sin.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Genesis 3:15