Never Argue With A Serpent…You’ll Lose Every Time

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,  but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3: 1-5

I never noticed this before, but the serpent lures Eve in with an easy win.  You see, most of us don’t engage in a fight we can’t win, but present us with a easy win, and we’ll take it every time.  But the serpent doesn’t care if he loses one argument as long as he wins the whole battle.

He starts the encounter with a “slow pitch” so Eve will engage him and tell him that he is wrong.  And you know us humans… we love to jump to tell someone they’re wrong.  And that’s what Eve does.  The serpent knows that God didn’t say “you must not eat from any tree in the garden.” But he baits Eve into an argument.  He knows how she’s going to respond so he sets her up.  When she “drops her knowledge bomb,” looking all smug and thinking “I just showed him up,” the serpent responds back with “Really…are you sure? C’mon…you know you’re not gonna die.”

And it’s just downhill from there.  You see, in that one statement, Eve was forced to question everything she believed.

That’s happens to all of us from time to time. But here’s where we can (hopefully) make a better decision than Eve. Instead of just giving up and saying, “Oh…I was completely wrong about everything. That’s it! I’m gonna abandon everything I believe now!” we should first engage God. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but if Eve would have simply gone to God and said, “Hey…Pops.  When you said we would surely die if we ate from that tree, what did you mean? You see, that serpent over there told me we wouldn’t die. So…I’m confused.”  

Quite honestly, I think God longs for those moments with us.  If you’re a parent, think back to those times where one of your children comes to you with a question and you get to provide an answer.  Were you mad at your child for the question?  No!  You cherish the moment with the child and want to encourage that inquisitive nature.  Especially if the answer to that question spares your child from a life of heartache and torment.

So, remember that little tidbit when you’re baited into an argument on Facebook or some other arena.   The irrational thing to do is fire back when you’re unsure of your standing. Best thing to do is to step back, evaluate your stance, and go to God. Prayerfully approach God and say, “Hey, Pops…that person over there said….”

Be mindful of the “slow pitch deception.” And be careful about being quick to jump to tell someone they’re wrong.