I am going through the Freedom Curriculum... for the third time... and also as a completely different person than I was two years ago when I went through it the first time. The thickest of scales have fallen off of my eyes and each time, more and more is revealed through His word. We were asked to read Gen. 3:1-8, the story of the serpent tempting Eve. When I read 3:1 I stopped and thought, why did God make a creature that was sneaky? I teach my kids not to be sneaky because when we are sneaky, we are usually doing something we aren't supposed to be doing. So if God created all animals, why would he create one with such a downfall in his personality...? and then.. mic drop. Like literally, I feel like as I was sitting there reading, God dropped the mic right in front of me and when the mic fell to the ground, so did another layer that I had allowed to cover my eyes for so long.
Gen. 3:1 says, " Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made...."
Que looking up the original text. What did it mean by "more crafty"? The original text says more "arum" in Hebrew, which means crafty, shrewd, sensible. Why would God need to make a snake crafty - clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods. Well, immediately I thought, well the poor thing has no arms or legs! I thought of how a lion catches its prey. It uses his mouth with his strong jaws and teeth and front paws and claws to grab its prey and strong core and back legs to thrust itself forward to get close to its prey. A snake doesn't have front legs or claws or back legs... it has its fangs, strong body and deceitful and crafty ways to sneak up on its prey. God made the snake like that for a very good reason.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers reads, "This quality of the serpent was in itself innocent, and even admirable, and according to the LXX translate prudent; but it was made use of by the tempter to deceive Eve."
This got me thinking... what part of my personality have I labeled as "bad" or "negative"? What part did God intentionally put as a part of me make up that I've allowed the enemy to use for bad when really it was intentionally placed in there for good?
Passion. I have always been labeled as passionate - I've written about this before. Passion is defined as a strong and barely controllable emotion. It included and justified my hot temper, big emotions both good and bed, I "wore my heart on my sleeve" and I "loved big." I allowed the tempter to use a part of my personality - that was God given- and intended for HIS good, to be used for destruction and ruin.
You know what the second definition of passion is? "the suffering and death of Jesus."- just as Jesus used it?
What an example of the God intended use for 'passion' in someone's life!
What if when God created passion, He intended for it to be used to further His Kingdom - just as Jesus used it? But without even knowing or realizing it, I've allowed the enemy to use it how he wanted to - which has caused pretensions, arguments, disunity, anger, etc.
So I ask you...
What part of your character, that God intended us to use to further His kingdom, have been used in the exact opposite way?
Also, I encourage you to have this same conversation with your kids. When I talked to Brodie about all of this and asked him what part of his personality does he not really like, he told me "that I'm scared." What an opportunity to talk about how God made him to be cautious. Easily knowing the line between safety and danger. Careful to avoid potential problems or dangers. God intended it to be used for His good. To help keep him out of trouble. To possibly help guide others and avoid dangerous situations. But for years past, before he found freedom from fear (yes, kids can find freedom, too!) this part of his personality was used by the sneaky snake to restrict him. To stop him from exploring, engaging, and experiencing things that were created for him to explore, engage with and experience.
Gen. 3:1 says, " Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made...."
Que looking up the original text. What did it mean by "more crafty"? The original text says more "arum" in Hebrew, which means crafty, shrewd, sensible. Why would God need to make a snake crafty - clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods. Well, immediately I thought, well the poor thing has no arms or legs! I thought of how a lion catches its prey. It uses his mouth with his strong jaws and teeth and front paws and claws to grab its prey and strong core and back legs to thrust itself forward to get close to its prey. A snake doesn't have front legs or claws or back legs... it has its fangs, strong body and deceitful and crafty ways to sneak up on its prey. God made the snake like that for a very good reason.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers reads, "This quality of the serpent was in itself innocent, and even admirable, and according to the LXX translate prudent; but it was made use of by the tempter to deceive Eve."
This got me thinking... what part of my personality have I labeled as "bad" or "negative"? What part did God intentionally put as a part of me make up that I've allowed the enemy to use for bad when really it was intentionally placed in there for good?
Passion. I have always been labeled as passionate - I've written about this before. Passion is defined as a strong and barely controllable emotion. It included and justified my hot temper, big emotions both good and bed, I "wore my heart on my sleeve" and I "loved big." I allowed the tempter to use a part of my personality - that was God given- and intended for HIS good, to be used for destruction and ruin.
You know what the second definition of passion is? "the suffering and death of Jesus."- just as Jesus used it?
What an example of the God intended use for 'passion' in someone's life!
What if when God created passion, He intended for it to be used to further His Kingdom - just as Jesus used it? But without even knowing or realizing it, I've allowed the enemy to use it how he wanted to - which has caused pretensions, arguments, disunity, anger, etc.
So I ask you...
What part of your character, that God intended us to use to further His kingdom, have been used in the exact opposite way?
Also, I encourage you to have this same conversation with your kids. When I talked to Brodie about all of this and asked him what part of his personality does he not really like, he told me "that I'm scared." What an opportunity to talk about how God made him to be cautious. Easily knowing the line between safety and danger. Careful to avoid potential problems or dangers. God intended it to be used for His good. To help keep him out of trouble. To possibly help guide others and avoid dangerous situations. But for years past, before he found freedom from fear (yes, kids can find freedom, too!) this part of his personality was used by the sneaky snake to restrict him. To stop him from exploring, engaging, and experiencing things that were created for him to explore, engage with and experience.