You Don’t Have to Live Like Eve
Women, our first birth, as daughters of Eve, leaves us hopeless to fight sin. We are bogged down by the continual battle for self-improvement, to earn and achieve and become. And just when we feel like we’re closing in on our goals, society changes the model of perfection.
The Same Old Tricks
Satan pulled this maneuver on Eve, too. The oldest lie in the book—really—is that God isn’t trustworthy. The enemy convinced Eve that there was more to life if she disobeyed God. There were things she could only be and have if she disregarded God’s words to her. In one swift move, Satan attacked not only God’s identity, but Eve’s as well. And like her, we easily fall prey to these subtle lies, where the enemy alters truth by ounces, to lead us to certain despair.
Do you feel it? That perpetual pull to change and improve yourself so that you will be powerful and loved and beautiful? Isn’t it exhausting? Have you ever thought that if you could just change this one thing, you’d finally be safe and accepted? It’s like living on a hamster wheel. On the days you succeed, you’re moved toward the sin of pride. And on the days you fail, you lean toward the sin of despair and condemnation. Hear me, sister: you were built for more.
Our second birth, as children of God, empowers us to walk in the truth of our identity. You don’t have to be like Eve, believing the lie. Proverbs 31:30 offers a few insights on how to outwit the enemy’s manipulation.
Don’t trust in your personality.
You are uniquely gifted to serve God and His creation, but all those charming things about you—from your wit to your intelligence to the way you do everything perfectly—those things aren’t the essence of you. Those things can change in a moment. All it takes is a sudden accident, a lurking disorder, and suddenly all you’ve built your false identity on is gone. Your true identity, first and foremost, is as a daughter of the King. You do not enter the Kingdom because of your own awesomeness.
Don’t trust in your beauty.
Whether you feel you possess any beauty or not, there’s a temptation to value yourself according to where you fall on a 10-scale. But any beauty you may have is going away. It’s called entropy. You’re falling apart. Which means you’re on a downward slope with beauty. Even as you read this, you may find yourself feeling angry or fearful, because I’m telling you that your fortified castle walls are decaying. But can you imagine keeping up this battle for more beauty while your body is moving the other direction?
Knowing God is the only way to rest secure.
When we immerse ourselves in His Word, we find Him to be all the things we’re longing for in life: patient, loving, generous, protective, adoring, perfect. And when our cup is filled up in His presence, we don’t have to leach off the world, hoping it will give us enough to sustain us. If you only take one thing away from this today, let it be this: get to know God’s personality by reading His word daily.
Eve wanted to be like God. Our fleshly selves do too. We want people to worship us. We want to feel powerful and invulnerable to what life hands us. But all your charms and strengths will fail you. Your body will betray you. Beauty fades, but godliness grows. Our only security and rest is found in knowing Him. And wisdom will find you dressing yourself in His truth: less of you, more of Him. How incredibly freeing.