They Got What They Wanted But They Lost What They Had

When Satan came to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, he tempted them with a desire for something new. He began to sow the seeds of desire in their heart for something that they were not supposed to have. And, of course, as the Bible tells us, their curiosity and desire overcame their will to obey God's command.

"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." ~ Genesis 3:6

When Adam and Eve tasted of the fruit of the forbidden tree, they experienced something that they truly wanted...the fruit. However, when they got what they wanted, they lost what they had. They were evicted from their paradise in Eden, sentenced to die for their sins, and cursed in several hard ways. Their gain, a simple peice of fruit, in exchange for their massive losses was simply more than they expected to pay.

Sin will always take you farther than you want to go and cost you more than you want to pay!

The truth is that this principle is seen all throughout the Bible, men and woman outside of the Will of God who wanted something so badly that they were willing to sacrifice the good things that they already had in order to gain them. Samson was willing to sacrifice his strength, his sight, and eventually his life in order to pursue a whorish woman whom he desired to be with. David lost his first born son with Bathsheeba because his desire to be with a married woman was so strong that he was willing to kill in order to satisfy that desire. The Bible is filled with similar stories of this same sad fate applied to life after life. Friends, these people got what they wanted, but they lost what they had!

Every day, I seem to see people with wonderful families, great children, the blessings of God on their lives, making decisions that are going to ultimately cause them to lose many of those things. Instead of staying close to the God that "daily loadeth us with benefits," people are pursuing their own worldly ambitions and are then left to wonder why their lives are falling apart. Instead of making decisions to care for what God has given us, we take for granted the good things in our lives and pursue vanities.

Friends, if you try hard enough, you can achieve or gain just about anything you set your mind toward. How far, though, are you willing to go in order to acheive those pursuits? What are you willing to sacrifice to pursue you own vanities or sins? Perhaps your family is a suitable sacrifice? Perhaps your kids? Your health maybe?