Article November 17, 1997 Issue

Sin: is it really a big deal?

Kerry Helen Jenkins

There may be nothing funny about the way that sin appears to finagle its way into our lives, but not long ago a story that I've read many times suddenly struck me in an amusing light. In this little tale, an apparently innocent and good person is tricked into thinking that a small indulgence on her part will not produce any of the dire consequences that she was warned such an act would occasion.

In fact, the tempter informed her, not only would it not bring such things, but it would actually bless her and her family. This well-meaning but perhaps foolish woman then apparently saw this argument as valid and yielded to the temptation, even convincing her husband to indulge as well.

Now, maybe you already know this famous tale from the Bible. It's the story of Eve yielding to the serpent's persuasive lie about the benefits of eating the forbidden fruit. The part that caught my attention, and even made me laugh this time, was the serpent's response to Eve when she says that God told her that to eat the forbidden fruit would bring death. The serpent scoffs, "Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4).

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