The Intangible Lure of the Forbidden

Ever since we were toddlers we have known the lure of the forbidden, that intangible enticement to a thing we are not supposed to have. It started with a cookie or your brother's blocks. But really, the lure of the forbidden started long before that.

It started with Eve and the twisted words of a snake. You know you want to eat from the tree; it's the one thing you can't have. God had given Adam and Eve freedom and domain over every other tree in the Garden of Eden. There was only one tree they were not allowed to eat from: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Immediately, this tree became desirable and Satan knew it, and he used that to tempt Eve to disobedience.

There is an intangible lure to the forbidden.

And this clicks lock and key into our sin natures. As human beings we are born with hearts intent on evil, natures fastidiously prideful. We are captains of our own destinies. Do not tell us what to do - or, more accurately, what not to do.

We are drawn to the forbidden because we don't think it should be forbidden. We don't like to think that someone else knows better than us. Something forbidden appeals to our vanity and arrogance.

Eve's obedience toppled under the pressure of the lure of the forbidden and the promise of fulfilled desire. It was a strong pull but she didn't have to give in.

As Christians we are daily tempted by the forbidden - the seemingly easy, cheap, pleasurable opportunities of cheating, fudging the truth, keeping the extra change, viewing pornography, wasting time, speeding, listening to that song with lyrics black and ugly but a tune overtly catchy, overeating, avoiding our devotions, pirating the movie everyone's talking about, sinning.

But Eve's story did not end well. She got what was forbidden all right, but then she realized why it was forbidden. Suddenly crushed under the weight of sin, perfect communion with God was shattered, healthy community with man was splintered, and she and Adam were banished from the garden. Tasting the forbidden has consequences. There's a reason that it's forbidden.

So when you feel the intangible lure, the enticing pull, think of the reality of the result. Think of the pain that sin causes and realize that what has been forbidden for Christians is for our good and for God's glory. And rejoice in that.