What is Satan’s first move? He asks a question.
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Now, this debate will decide humanity’s fate, so I believe a fact check is in order. Who doesn’t love a good fact check?
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…’” — Genesis 2:16-17
God definitely said don’t eat. Fact!
Two things jump out to me with his first move.
The first is that the serpent asks Eve, but God told Adam. It’s a subtle move, but what he’s doing is beginning to isolate and break down truth from the only person who didn’t directly hear it. One of his favorite tactics is to create space between those you care most about. It starts off as tiny fractures, but over time they grow until, before you know it, that relationship is totally broken.
The second: the serpent restates truth in the form of a question.
What does this do? It plants a seed that there’s something Eve may not know. It casts a shadow on the heart of God, attempting to taint His intentions. The longer a seed hangs around, the more time it has to grow. As the roots take hold, it gets bigger and bigger until it’s the only thing you can think of. Then, by framing it as a potential total ban, he makes God appear stingy rather than generous. Notice that Eve’s response includes “touch,” which was not in the original command. It makes God’s command even more strict, playing further into Satan’s deception.
Adam and Eve are falling for the focus of what you don’t have versus what you do have. Satan is changing the way they view God’s protection and convincing them it’s restriction instead. In doing so, he is now creating distance between her and God. He has effectively created distance in every relationship Eve has—God and Adam.
In relationships, distance creates distortion.
Think about this scenario: A co-worker, friend, or leader walks by and doesn’t acknowledge you.
The Question: Do they really care about me?
The Distance: You start avoiding them.
The Distortion: You start thinking, and maybe whispering, things about them.
The Reality: They did nothing wrong. They were going through a really tough time in life, and you weren’t there for them.
Do you see how things can get so easily twisted?
What is the one relationship that has distance that needs to be closed?
What distortions are you putting on them?
Where is unity being broken? Maybe it’s God Himself?
We must fight for unity, because our enemy is fighting against it.