Till By Turning We Come Out Right

Genesis 3:1-13

September 28, 2025 • Mount Pleasant UMC

We Americans love our stuff. And I’m not pointing fingers at anyone; that most definitely includes me. I love my stuff and I have way too much of it. Ten years ago, when we moved to Terre Haute, I made a concerted effort to pare down our stuff. I donated many boxes of stuff to the Portage church’s rummage sale and to Goodwill, and do you know what? When everything was totaled after our move here, we were still over the Conference limit for moving expenses. Because we have too much stuff. And guess what we’ve done since we’ve been here? Buy more stuff. According to the Federal Reserve, over the last three years (post-pandemic), our spending has increased every year but our income has not. Every year, we go deeper in debt, and we still don’t think have enough stuff. I often say that our challenge is we have too much month at the end of our money, but the real problem we have isn’t a stuff problems. It’s not an economic problem. And it’s not an employment/unemployment problem. The problem, the real problem that we face, is a spiritual problem, one as old as time itself.

It’s that time of year again, as you may have guessed. For the next three weeks, we’re going to be talking about stewardship, about how we use the resources we have—and I’m not just talking about money because stewardship is about so much more than mere money. But it’s also not not about money. I’m going to tell you up front that the goal for these three weeks is not to just learn some new facts and figures about money or stewardship, though we will do that. The goal is not even to just get you to make a pledge on Generosity Sunday, though I hope you will do that. Our goal is no less than the transformation of heart and mind. At the end of these three weeks, our goal is that we would be people who are growing in simplicity and extravagant generosity. Lofty goal, I know, but all I ask for today and the next two weeks is that you be open to what God wants to say to you and then be obedient in following it.

Because the spiritual issue is a matter of obedience. It’s been that way since the beginning of time. Many of us know the story of the Garden of Eden that’s found in Genesis, the very beginning of the Bible. It’s the story of a man and a woman in paradise. “Eden” means “delight,” and it’s described as a place where the man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, had everything they needed and then some (Briscoe, Communicator’s Commentary: Genesis, pg. 56). There was nothing they wanted for, nothing they lacked, and there was only one restriction God put on them. In Genesis 2, God told Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (2:16-17). Now, we don’t have time this morning to get into all the details or opinions of why that tree was in the Garden in the first place. Why did God put something in the Garden that they weren’t allowed to touch? Wouldn’t it have been better just to leave that out? You can hash that out in your small group discussions or over lunch. The point of Genesis is this: God was clear that there was only one restriction. Everything else in the Garden was theirs. There was only one tree they had to stay away from. And all of you who are parents and grandparents know what happened next. What happens when you tell a child not to touch something? Exactly—the only thing they want is that one thing. They can have the whole rest of the house to play in, but the only place they want to play is with the electrical outlet. They can have all the paper in the world to color on, but they want to color on the walls. They can have numerous toys to play with, but they want to pull all the stuff off your shelf! Am I right? Of course!

So Genesis 3 begins with the introduction of a new character in the story: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made” (3:1). Suddenly, there’s a serpent in the Garden, a talking snake. Now, there’s a lot of things we don’t know about this serpent, but Genesis tells us he was created by God, and therefore, he was subject to humanity. God had already given Adam authority over “every living creature” in the world (1:28). This serpent had no true power over Adam or Eve, so if he’s going to get anywhere with the humans, he has to be subtle about it, or as Genesis says, he had to be “crafty.” Maybe he had been watching Eve, studying her, listening to things she and Adam had said. We don’t know for sure how, but he did know how to get past Eve’s defenses (Briscoe 57). And that’s exactly what he does. So let’s watch as instead of humanity ruling over the creatures, the creature ends up ruling over humanity (Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone—Part One, pg. 44).

Notice that the snake doesn’t tell Eve to do anything. He just asks a question, and the original text indicates he does it in a way that scoffs at God (Briscoe 58): “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (3:1, emphasis mine). The serpent isn’t just asking a question; he’s turning up his nose and actively mocking God: “Surely God didn’t say…” It’s interesting that he goes to Eve, because she wasn’t yet created when God gave the original instruction to Adam. It’s almost like the snake believes he can trick her because she didn’t hear the command firsthand. But we the readers know that’s not what God said, and so does Eve. Eve tries to correct the serpent, but she even goes farther with the restriction than God did. Whether that’s because God added more to it later, or Adam did, or Eve herself, we don’t know, but she tells the serpent they can’t eat from this one particular tree, nor can they touch it, or they will die (cf. Goldingay 46). It’s the “don’t touch it” part that Eve (or someone) added. And the serpent moves in quickly, contradicting what Eve has been told: “You will not certainly die” (3:4). The serpent all but accuses God of lying. “You’re not going to die. In fact, just the opposite. You will be like God.” I don’t think the real temptation here is the fruit itself; the real temptation is the power to be God. Biblical scholar John Goldingay says, “The difference between God and us is that God never thinks he is us” (48). That’s what drew Eve, and eventually Adam, to the tree: “You will be like God.”

The text tells is that when Eve looks at the tree, she sees that it is good. Do you remember when we last heard that pronouncement? It’s in the creation poem of Genesis 1, when God declares everything “good.” The word is tov, which means “good” but actually means that something is truly like God. It’s that good. Do you remember when a man came up to Jesus and called him “good teacher”? Jesus responded, “No one is good—except God alone” (Mark 10:17-18). Only God is fully tov, but Genesis has told us he pours his goodness into everything he has made. God is also the only one who can declare something to be tov, so Eve is already beginning to try to take God’s place when she declares the fruit “good” (cf. Sailhamer, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, pg. 51; McKnight & Barringer, A Church Called Tov, pgs. 86-87).

Theologically, Genesis 3 tells the story of what we call the “Fall,” the time when humanity “fell” into rebellion against God, or when what we call “sin” came into the world. When Eve reached for the fruit, and when Adam also takes it from her, everything forever changes. The rest of human history is the story of humanity trying to recover from our rebellion, and current history is no different. In fact, I’m struck by the ways our lifestyles parallel that of this story in Genesis. Not that any of us have seen a talking serpent—though, if you have, I’d like to hear about it! No, not that kind of parallel. I’m talking about our insatiable desire and constant attempts to go beyond the boundaries God has set up, the desire to do things that in the long run are not for our good. One of the ways we experience that today is in our grasping for more and more and more in an attempt to have it all and be like God. We’re always grabbing for the “fruit.”

I asked a question this week on Facebook (and thanks to those who responded to me) about what your “fruit” is. Mine, as I’ve alluded to, is gadgets, particularly Apple-branded gadgets, and no, the irony is not lost on me that my “fruit” is Apple stuff (whose logo has a bite taken out of the apple). But for some of you, there are other things that are constant temptations. I asked, “What is the ‘stuff’ you are most tempted to buy too much of?” Some folks said clothes, shoes, purses, plants, coffee, and office supplies. Others mentioned Amazon and DoorDash, plus Dairy Queen to satisfy a late-night craving. And there were other things, like hobby supplies and collection items, but generally we know we buy too many things that are either too expensive or that we don’t need. Now, let me ask you: do you see yourself in that list somewhere, or is your “fruit” something else? Because all of us, from time to time, are tempted to grasp for more than we need, more than we should have. Adam and Eve had everything they needed right there in Eden, but they decided it wasn’t good enough. And because it wasn’t enough, they decided to play God and reach for more.

The challenge for us today is the way so many things that used to be wants have become needs, requirements. Increasingly, we get those wants and needs confused. Eve didn’t need that particular fruit; she had all the fruit and food she could ever want all throughout the Garden. She had access to everything in the Garden and was only prohibited from one single tree. And yet, in her mind, and with the help of the tempter, she turned a want into a need. Let’s take a quick quiz this morning. I’m going to name some common items and I want you to tell me if they are a want or a need, all right? Automobile. Microwave oven. Smart phone. Automatic start on your automobile. High speed internet service. Streaming services. 4K Blu-ray player. Personal home computer. Now, all of those items, except for the automobile, were non-existent in my home when I was a kid. I remember when we got our first microwave oven, and my folks didn’t have a VCR until after I graduated from high school. Some of you may not even know what a VCR was. All these things that are now needs are, for many people today, seen as necessities. We are experts at turning our wants into our needs.

Pastor Adam Hamilton suggests there are two illnesses that, as he puts it, have turned the American dream into the American nightmare (Enough, pgs. 14-20). The first is affluenza. This time of year we often get very concerned about influenza, but no one seems to be concerned about affluenza: the constant need for bigger and better stuff, the ways we give in to the advertisers who tell us, “You really do need that fruit. You need the bigger and better gadget, the new iPhone, the best so-and-so.” Affluenza. The other illness is credit-itis, which is our desire to get it all now and figure out how to pay for it later. I’ll never forget being at Wal-Mart, when the kids were little, and they were asking for something; I don’t remember what. It’s not important. But I do remember saying, “We don’t have money for that right now,” and almost immediately, Christopher responded, “Just put it on your credit card, Dad!” He was maybe 7 or 8, and he already knew how most people handle not having the money “right now!” Just put it on the credit card! The average American today who has a credit card carries $6,473 in credit card debt; making minimum payments each month, it will take you 25 years to pay off that debt and you will pay nearly $10,000 in interest—more than the original amount charged. That’s assuming new debt isn’t added to it, which we know is unlikely. Over 11% of our income goes to servicing our debt, mortgaging our future (so to speak). Affluenza and Credit-itis flourish when our wants turn into needs, when we reach for the forbidden fruit.

So let me ask you to do something right now. Pull out your sermon study guide and on the back is a blank area for you to make a list. In that space, I want you to list three things that are on your “wants” list. Maybe this is your Christmas list, or a birthday wish list. Or maybe these are just things you have admired and wish you could have. Just three things, and I’m going to give you just a few moments to write those three things down. Be honest; you’re not going to have to share them with anyone. [Silence] Now, of those three things, which one is next on your list of purchases? If you had the money, which one of those would you go buy today? Put a star or asterisk beside that item. [Silence] Now, I’m going to ask you to carry that list with you this week. Put it in your pocket, take it to your small group, share it if you feel comfortable, and use it to think about the differences between needs and wants.

Now, I’m not saying we can’t have things we want. The problem is not things. The problem is our attitude toward things, toward stuff. The problem is in us, when we want to cross boundaries that are there for our well-being—boundaries like living within our means, or contentment with what we have. We would do well to adopt the attitude of the Apostle Paul, who told the Philippians, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13). That is where Adam and Eve were called to live. As I said, God had given them everything they needed and then some. They were instructed to be content with that, and to leave one single tree alone, because it was more than they could handle. How many days did Eve look at that tree and wonder what it was like, what the fruit tasted like? How many times did she walk by and gaze at it? She only needed one question from the serpent to give in and take fruit from the tree. Then she helped Adam cross the line, and soon everything was a mess.

How did it work out for Adam and Eve? Genesis says as soon as they ate, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked” (3:7). They become not wise but afraid. As far as we know, they had always been naked, but something had changed. They realized in that moment that they had declared their independence from God, but that meant then they were totally dependent upon themselves. They saw themselves in a new way, and suddenly felt inadequate (Briscoe 61). In some way, it seems, they tried to cover up what they had done by covering themselves. Maybe God wouldn’t notice that things had changed. For the first time, because they had gone where they shouldn’t have gone, brokenness entered the human story. Shame, hiding, embarrassment—these things hadn’t been part of the story up until now. And when God asks them what happened, it comes down to one simple story: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (3:13). Not only is that a statement of blame, of Eve trying to not take responsibility, it’s also a statement of fact. She gave in to the temptation to have more, to try to be like God and have it all. Her statement, her story is our story. When we find ourselves in a mess, the first thing we need to do is admit we have given in to temptation—whether that’s financial temptation or any other. We were deceived, and we ate. And nothing can be the same.

So what is the answer? Is there a way out? Well, over the next two weeks, I’m going to suggest that the Bible’s answer to our problem is found in practicing simplicity and generosity. I’m going to suggest we can learn to silence the voices that call us to constantly buy and spend more and more and more, the ones that expect us in many ways to live beyond our means. And I’m going to suggest that the Bible says real joy is found in being people of extravagant generosity. Certainly there have been people who have found that to be true. When I was in seminary, we lived just north of a place called Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Every Sunday on our way to worship, we would drive by this place that was better known to the world as Shakertown. Now, when we moved to Kentucky, I’d never heard of the Shakers (who were officially called the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing), and I honestly didn’t know much about this small Christian sect. I still don’t know much about their doctrine, but one thing I quickly learned was that their food was outstanding. When the Board of Ordained Ministry came to visit the seminary, to try to recruit people to come serve in what was then the North Indiana Conference, they would take candidates out to eat at Shakertown, so I made sure not to miss their visit! The food was so so good. But I digress. I’ve learned that Shakers were known for a couple of things. First, their worship was not ritual-based, and was often very emotional and demonstrative. Like the Quakers, they believed you found God in yourself, rather than through clergy. They got the name “Shakers” from the way the presence of the Holy Spirit would manifest himself in worship; they would start shaking.

But the second thing I learned about the Shakers, and one of the things I admire the most, is their emphasis on simplicity. They lived simple lives, and they sang simple songs. Perhaps the most well-known of all Shaker songs is “Simple Gifts.” You’ll recognize the tune, even if you’ve never heard the words. Written in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett, the words to this song explain the Shakers’ attitude toward life:

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’Tis the gift to be free,

’Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

’Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained

To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

’Till by turning, turning we come out right.

That last line really captures the essence of the journey we’re going to make over these next couple of weeks. Adam and Eve chose to turn away from God, to do what they knew would not please God. But we have the chance to make the choice to turn toward God, to seek God’s direction in what we do, and as the song says, it’s only in that turning that we will come out right. Here’s the truth: ultimately our satisfaction must be found in God alone and not in stuff, for only God is truly enough. Let’s pray.