Certain scholars claim that the word “sin” itself (in Hebrew or Greek) does not appear in the early Genesis stories about the creation of humanity. This is accurate. The additional inference that sin is finally dealt with as a result of this observation is probably not quite so accurate. We know that sin and its repercussions are pretty much alive and rampant in our world and community. That is, sin understood in terms of doing immoral or selfish things. For instance, some commentators have noted that the world is still reeling from economic chaos due to greed in some parts of the market place. Even though the creation stories do not mention sin, they clearly underline the fundamental nature of sin in terms of an independence from God – which was the essence of the temptation presented to Eve. Because of the decision to act independently of God, a number of areas of separation occurred.
- God – the first level of separation was humanity’s separation from intimate friendship and fellowship with God. Whereas, they once chatted with God in the garden now they hid from God in fear. For many as a result, God is either dismissed of altogether or held aloof from any real interaction in their lives.
- Man and woman – the second level of separation was between them. Whereas once they were not ashamed of their nakedness, now they wanted to cover themselves. For many couples, intimacy is rare and misunderstanding is prolific in any attempt to deeply communicate with one another.
- Child-birth – the next level of separation, for the woman, was separation from the enjoyment of one of the most precious events of her life, giving birth to a new child. Now it was attached to pain.
- Dominance – again for the woman even though she would have an intense attachment to her man, he would domineer and rule her. As a result, many women are abused in place of the intimacy and romance they desire in their relationship with their husbands.
- Work – for the man he would know only frustration in the work of his hands. Work would be hard and accompanied with pain. Finally he would return to the very dust from which he had been made. For many, work is a drudge to be endured not enjoyed and they carry into retirement a sense of failure and worthlessness.
The Genesis story is pretty accurate in its description of some significant areas of our life which could be better. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but outline key areas where independence from God creates significant levels of separation in our lives. However, there are two additional levels of separation indicated by the place of the serpent in the story, who has traditionally represented Lucifer who was once the Archangel in charge of worship and praise.
- Worship – as a result of his fall from heaven and our independence from God, humanity was separated from the joy of worshiping and praising God. It explains the difficulty we have in coming to worship and the contention that occurs in many churches over the form of that worship.
- Glory – the final other area of separation was from participation in the glory of God. The decision to act independently from God was aimed at grabbing God’s glory apart from God. As a result the participation in that glory was lost. It is the reason that the serpent is condemned to crawl along the ground – falling from the heights of the kingdom of God to the dust of the earth.
Paul notes that each and every one of the barriers, that have arisen in our lives because of these areas of separation, have been torn down by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He writes: “for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9).
