How Sin Entered the World: The Oldest Trend in Human History

As a Christian blogger, I find that there are topics that are much easier to write about. The birth of Jesus and the nativity scene? Yup! How much He loves us? Absolutely. These topics fill my heart with joy and excitement.

But this one, I almost didn't want to do it. I was tempted to focus on something else.

Why? Because this topic is... uncomfortable. It's one of those things where you know you need to talk about it, but you'd rather just skip ahead to the good feels.

Sin.

And it’s not to pile on guilt, or to make anyone feel bad. But because I believe that understanding where something started helps me to understand where it's going.

That's what this 3-part series is about. Sin. And I’ll be honest, this is as much for me as it is for you, and anyone else reading it.

I invite you to rip off the band-aid with me.

Have you ever noticed how sin gets portrayed in movies? It's always enticing.

It's the attractive woman in the super short red dress on the other side of the room. Or the handsome young man whose shirt is so tight that you can see his muscles. Or it’s the slice of rich chocolate cake that’s sitting on the table. All so appealing and tempting.

But anytime I hear a sermon about sin, it gets so quiet that I can hear a pin drop. I’m yet to hear anyone in the pews say, “Ooooh, I want some of THAT!”

Nope. Silence. Shuffling feet. People staring at their fingernails, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone else.

Me included. Can the priest see all of my thoughts right now? I feel so exposed!

So why the disconnect? Why does Hollywood make sin look like a party, but talking about it is like getting called to the principal's office?

I think it's because most of us jumped into this story halfway through. Yes, we all know that sin is bad. We all know that we're supposed to avoid it. But how often do we go back to the beginning to understand where it came from? Why does it have the grip that it does?

Because I realize I'd spent years talking about sin without ever really going back to the start. Like jumping into a movie at the 45-minute mark and wondering why nothing makes sense.

So let's go back. Waaaay back. Like Genesis back.

Adam and Eve, the classic Sunday School story. As a child, my takeaways were mostly that snakes were bad, apples were bad, and it’s embarrassing to walk around nekkid. I know, right? But it is what it is. I can’t change my childhood memories.

But now I read it like I’m standing in that garden.

There were three things that pulled at Eve.

Good for food. It’s practical, it met a physical need.

Pleasing to the eye. It’s beautiful, so attractive. It looked right.

Desirable for gaining wisdom. It seemed smart, like it would make her better, more complete.

That's a trifecta of temptation! Body, eyes, and mind, all pulling in the same direction at the same time.

What a recognizable pattern. When I make a decision (that I later regret), it follows this sequence. It looked good. It felt right. And I could rationalize why it was the smart move.

But isn’t that how it works? Despite the warning labels, sin looks good, it’s appealing, and for all the right reasons.

The word that jumps out at me is banished. It’s not a word I use, like at all.

Banished means in exile, forced removal. Permanent separation.

In high school, I remember learning about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and how devastated Romeo was when he was banished from Verona because it meant he was to be separated from Juliet, his new wife. And thinking of my adolescent crushes, yeah, I would be devastated to be separated from all of them!

Now, Romeo and Juliet is a play, so not real people. And I have no idea where my high school crushes are now.

But instead of being separated from a love, Genesis recounts a permanent separation from God.

He COULD’VE wiped them out in a rage. But instead, there was a distance that wasn't there before. The intimacy of walking with God in this beautiful place…gone.

The ground Adam came from became the ground he now had to fight with. And this altered the relationship between humanity and... well, everything.

Obviously, I don’t live in the Garden of Eden, nor was I there for the banishment. But in re-reading this verse, I think about how one choice changes the terrain of everything that comes after. Choices carry weight. They have gravity. And some of the choices that I make rearrange the geography of my life in ways that I didn't expect. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t undo them.

That's what happened here. Adam and Eve made a choice that altered the landscape of their perfect lives, and no matter what, they couldn’t go back.

When I was younger, hearing this used to seem unfair to me. Like, hold on, they ate the fruit. Why am I dealing with the consequences? I wasn't even there! I didn’t have a say!

But Paul’s not pointing fingers, he's describing a current. Sin entered the world, and death came in right behind it. And that current reached everyone, all of us, including me.

Nobody taught me how to be selfish. Nobody gave me a class on jealousy or pride or cutting corners. It was already in the water and I was born swimming in it. And I’m not even that great of a swimmer!

Instead of focusing on the blame angle (which I have a tendency to do), I think this verse is about understanding the environment we're operating in. It’s not wise to try and navigate a current you don't know exists.

And pretending it's not there doesn't make you a better swimmer…it just makes you more likely to drown.

Do you remember learning about lifecycles in biology? This is kind of like that.

Desire --> Sin --> Death.

It starts so. incredibly. small.

A thought I think about just a little too long. A boundary that I nudge ever so slightly with my toe. Or “only this once” that somehow becomes twice, then a pattern, then a habit.

I don’t typically fall for things all at once. It’s more like a slow slide. A bunch of tiny yeses that I barely noticed until I looked up and realized I was somewhere I never planned to be. Who ate all those double chocolate brownies in the pan? I only made them last night!

It’s a progression. Sin knocks politely, comes in for a cup of coffee, and then never leaves.

So here's where we are. Sin started with a choice in a garden and reached every single one of us through a current we were born into.

Heads up, this is all a bit uncomfortable. At least it is for me! But I think the stuff we don't want to talk about is usually the stuff we need to talk about most.

Up next, we'll look at what sin does to us. Like a bad song that’s playing on loop. See you there.