Genesis: Spotting a Bad Apple
“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5
Can you spot a bad apple when you see one? This one is green. It will pucker you mouth and sour your stomach. This one is spoilt. It has lain too long and is rotten throughout. Usually, a bad apple is evident. However, perhaps like me, you have reached for and sunk your choppers into an apple you imagined to be good – but was not. Instead of crisp it was mushy; instead of sweet it was spoilt. Many of us remember a bite that revealed a wormhole. Disgusting!
It looked like a good apple to Eve. Adam must have thought so too. The shiny, red skin promised sweet, juicy pleasure – and more! It promised an experience like no other, “Your eyes will be opened.” It promised greatness, “You will be like God.” And it promised new information, “Knowing good and evil.” It looked like a good apple, but the first bite revealed the worm.
It has not gotten any easier to spot bad apples. This is further complicated by the fact that there is often a good looking, although somewhat serpentine, marketer nearby pointing out the benefits of the fruit. Once half the worm is in your mouth, however, it is too late.
© 2004 Donald D. Reigstad