Genesis 3 is a story of sin, transgression, rebellion, defiance, and treason. It’s also a story of fig leaves, hide and seek, and blame. Rather than walking the path of confession, Adam and Eve chose the path of sewing fig leaf clothing, hiding from the presence of God, and  blaming others for their sin.

Genesis 3 really is great Sunday school material. Almost every children’s Bible includes the story, and why wouldn’t they?! The scene is a memorable mixture of comedy and tragedy.

Adam and Eve are wearing fig leaves.

Adam and Eve are hiding from the omniscient, omnipresent God.

Adam and Eve are trying to shift blame and responsibility.

It would be comedic if not for the fact that Adam and Eve had just plunged humanity into darkness, despair, and depravity.

By God’s grace, humanity has come a long way since Eden. The plan of redemption has played out in remarkable ways. There is good news for all of Adam’s children. God has decisively dealt with our sin at the cross, and the tomb is empty. Jesus saves.

While God has provided salvation, the sin of Adam still lives in our hearts. We may not be walking around in fig leaf outfits. We may not be hiding in a garden. We may not be pointing fingers at a talking snake. But our tactics are essentially the same in 2019.

Rather than taking the path of confession, we tend to act just like our first parents.

• Blame. We insist that our sin is really the fault of another person. We blame parents, teachers, governments, and neighbors.

• Justification. If we admit our faults and imperfections, we’re often quick to insist that we were justified in doing what we did.

• Majority Rules. We remind ourselves that everyone is doing it. Majority rules, right? We take solace when we sin with the majority.

• Evil is Good. We often redefine morality to soothe our conscience. Saying evil is actually good, it makes us feel better about ourselves.

• Self Medication. If nothing else works, we can always find a doctor who will prescribe something to ease our troubled minds.

• Religion. We mistakenly think that ritual, spirituality, and man-made religion will fix the problem of sin that lives in our hearts.

Rather than reliving the tragedy of Eden, we need to live the wisdom of the Psalmist:

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:4-5)