In the first couple of chapters of Genesis, we read about how Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden for their disobedience. They did one thing wrong, and out they went. One thing. One tiny little mishap, and they were out. No three strikes. No second chances. No mulligans. They goofed on one point of order and they had to pack up all their fig leaves and animal skins and scoot. And God meant business. Not only were they out, He posted armed guards to keep them out. Adam and Eve seriously blew it.

So we couldn’t even get through one generation in the Garden before we were sent out to find our way in the wild world outside of the Garden. It wasn’t a great start, really.

I’ve been pondering this for a while. So Humanity eats from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and for our disobedience we are awarded the desire to judge for ourselves what is “good” for us, and what is “bad”; not only for ourselves but for everyone else, too. This was never supposed to be. This was a huge game changer. This changed everything. We were no longer completely dependent on the Lord. We could judge for ourselves, decide our own destinies, make our own way apart from our Heavenly Father.

No wonder we were expelled.

This was not going to go well for us.

So why don’t we just stop it? I mean, how often do we really get these things right, anyway?

Say someone loses a job, and immediately we decide it’s “bad”. Until another, seemingly better job comes along, and we judge that as “good”. Except we have to go back and ultimately say that losing the first job was actually “good” rather than “bad”. But then the new “good” job takes this person away from his family, requiring a lot of travel, and while on a business trip the person gets lonely and looks elsewhere for companionship. The home is destroyed. Suddenly the “good” job is now “bad”. But the person who has just lost his entire family hits rock bottom, and suddenly is caught up by his sin, realizes his need for a Savior, gives his life to the Lord, becomes reconciled with his spouse, and now the situation is seen as “good” once again. So was losing the initial job “good” or “bad”?

I’m tired. It’s all just too much. I don’t know about you, but how about we just stop it all? We can’t go back to the Garden. We aren’t even supposed to, but we can try to learn not to trust on our own understanding of things. We can try to stop over-thinking all this stuff. We can let what happens happen, and believe, as followers of Christ, that He is at work in it all, and it is all going to ultimately be for our good. And that should be good enough, right?