“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
What Matthew Henry says was so helpful to me: “It is the subtlety of Satan to blemish the reputation of the divine law as uncertain or unreasonable, and so to draw people to sin.” Isn’t it just like error to convince me that adhering to God’s demands is unreasonable or even impractical! A social situation, a hungering appetite, or false pleasure often make a little deviation from God’s demands seem justifiable,...but they never are. Being alert to this subtle “wile of the devil” gives me the needed encouragement and strength to resist a particular temptation that has been very difficult up to now.
Joanne
deder
16 posts
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Location: n.a.
11/03/2015 10:27
Re: 'The serpent was more subtil...'
I agree that it is very helpful to think of the subtlety of error and how giving in to its temptations, even slightly, can lead to destruction if not corrected. This makes me think of Matthew 7:14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." I envision a tightrope walker high in the sky, who is tempted over and over to look away from his focus, but does not give in and has almost reached his destination. When he is unable to resist any longer, suddenly he looks away, loses his balance...and eventually falls (departs from his path).
Gary
431 posts
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Location: n.a.
11/04/2015 08:18
Re: 'The serpent was more subtil...'
In II Corinthians 11: "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
The truth is simple. How comforting is that! And yet, how often does life seem so complicated? Each one of us, in truth, is the image and likeness of our perfect Father, and when we trust our spiritual sense and get rid of pride, hatred, envy, revenge, etc..., we know what we need to know when we need to know it, and life becomes like the "straight and narrow" path.
However, if I trust my material senses instead of my spiritual sense, then I merely observe the human condition and am tempted to try all that the world has to offer. That is being in the "carnal" mind, which is "enmity against God." We observe some things that are good, some things that are bad, and we observe many things that we're not sure about. Life gets complicated. I'm not sure where to send my kids to school, not sure who to vote for, not sure whether to take that trip or not, etc...
If life seems complicated, it is a sure sign one is in the wrong mind, that he has lost touch with the Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus." To attempt to draw conclusions from observation of the human condition is self-deception. Without spiritual sense, life is complicated. Mrs. Eddy refers to it as an enigma (a problem without a solution).
I'm grateful for Mrs. Eddy, for pointing out the subtilty of error, and helping us not to be "corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
JPalmer
134 posts
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Location: Plainfield United States
11/04/2015 11:08
Re: 'The serpent was more subtil...'
Thank you for this reminder! I am so grateful for the simplicity that Christian Science has brought me. When I think of the complexities that my life had, I can see how they brought about problems without a solutions.
For example: Loyalty to more than one person made it increasingly difficult to please everyone without feeling like I needed to lie so that everyone would get along. Now that I am learning to only be loyal to God, this simplification has made it so I never feel I need to lie to smooth out a situation. What a wonderful change!
9. II Corinthians 1
12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
Upon reading this, I realized that ‘conversation’ might have had a different meaning than I knew, so here is the 1828 Webster’s definition:
CONVERSATION, noun
1. General course of manners; behavior; deportment; especially as it respects morals.
Let your conversation be as becometh the gospel. Philippians 1:27.
Be ye holy in all manner of conversation 1 Peter 1:15.
2. A keeping company; familiar intercourse; intimate fellowship or association; commerce in social life. Knowledge of men and manners is best acquired by conversation with the best company.
3. Intimate and familiar acquaintance; as a conversation with books, or other object.
4. Familiar discourse; general intercourse of sentiments; chat; unrestrained talk; opposed to a formal conference.
By these meanings, “our conversation in the world” seem to be the totality of our words, actions and thoughts in the course of our life. I now see that to keep all that “in simplicity and godly sincerity” is only possible with Christian Science.
