Some things never change. Greed and love are two of those things. They motivate thoughts, actions, and feelings that people find a way to express in one way or another.
Change is good if it’s an improvement. However, selfishness creates an unsatisfied desire for more. Love, on the other hand, is about sharing. When this latter trait is reciprocated and appreciated, circumstances improve.
In reflection, greed only satisfies before it moves to something else for a short duration. In contrast, enduring love has its roots in growth.
“There’s nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Every previous generation has experienced happy days and sad days; only the times and technology have changed, human feelings are the same. Adam saw, desired, and took the fruit, but it had consequences he didn’t anticipate. The same is true with sin today. There is still the thrill of enjoyment, but some pleasures cause bitterness and regret.
Why can’t humanity learn from the past? We can tweak our reactions, but the past is still there. We can change our future actions and improve ourselves to look different, but beneath its outer wrapping, it is still the same old forbidden fruit.
Adam didn’t listen to the divine instruction, and neither has each succeeding generation. Nevertheless, some things remain the same. The appetite for sin is ever salivating. Only once in a while will someone stand up and say enough is enough like Joshua wrote in 24:15 of the sixth book of the Old Testament. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (NKJV).
Let’s choose to be more like Joshua.
