The First Disobedience

Now the serpent was more deceitful than any other animal that Jehovah had made; and it said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman answered, “We may eat of the fruit of all the trees of the garden except the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, for God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it; for if you do, you shall die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die; for God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will know what is good and what is evil.”

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, beautiful to look at and that it would make her wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, so that they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made girdles for themselves. When they heard the sound of the footsteps of Jehovah, as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the man and his wife hid from him among the trees of the garden.

And Jehovah called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” and he answered, “I heard the sound of thy footsteps in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Jehovah said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?” The man answered, “The woman whom thou didst give to me–she gave me fruit from the tree and I ate.” Jehovah said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman replied, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Then Jehovah said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you shall be hated more than all beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust all your life, and men and serpents shall always be enemies. They shall bruise your head, and you shall wound them on the heel.”

To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your trouble and your pain, and you shall be subject to your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

But to the man he said, “Because you have listened to your wife and have eaten of the tree from which I forbade you to eat, as long as you live you shall earn a living only by hard work. By hard work shall you raise food to eat. And you shall die and your body go back to the ground, for from dust you were made, and to dust you shall return!”

And Jehovah made garments of skins for the man and his wife, and clothed them. And he sent them out of the garden of Eden to till the ground.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/The-First-Disobedience.shtml

Is Plastic Surgery a Sin? by Dee Dee Wike

While reading an article in Ladies Home Journal about the increase in cosmetic procedures these days, the following question came to mind: Is plastic surgery a sin? I am not saying it is a sin, nor is this post an assault on plastic surgeons, patients, or cosmetic procedures. So put down your sticks and stones, please. I happen to like my face (for the most part!). Besides, how do you know I haven’t been nipped or tucked?

People have cosmetic procedures for all kinds of reasons. Although there is a tendency to associate plastic surgery or other cosmetic procedures with low self-esteem and vanity, for some it is a medical necessity. Cancer and burn victims, accident victims, and those with birth abnormalities such as cleft lip can benefit not only physically but emotionally from reconstructive surgery.

It is no secret that we live in a society which has a standard of beauty which differs greatly from God’s standard. One only need look through the pages of a magazine or watch a TV commercial to see what the world’s standards are. It doesn’t take more than a glance at someone beautiful or a critical word about our own appearance to develop a negative self-image. Once that happens, we may decide that the only way to solve our dilemma is to alter our appearance so that we will look and feel younger or be better able to compete with those who seem to have inherited all the beauty genes.

Every one of us wants to look our best. I won’t even go out of the house without penciling on eyebrows and slapping a little color on my lips. Truth be told, I would probably even consider an eyelid tuck or neck lift if money were no object. For now, though, I have to settle for my age-fighting skin care regimen and Photoshop to get the laugh lines (I refuse to call them wrinkles) out of my face.

Whatever our reasons or methods for achieving a more youthful or glamorous appearance, we occasionally need to be reminded that God loves us just the way we are. Psalm 139 tells of the care God took when he created each of us. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (vs. 13-14). Yet many of us feel inadequate, inconsequential, and insecure unless we are tattooed, tucked, enhanced, or plucked. God never intended us to feel that way about ourselves and he wants us all to be mindful that he loves us, warts and all. We can try to outrun the clock or turn back the effects of time on our bodies, but we can never outrun God’s love or do anything to ourselves to make him love us more than he already does.

 

Here are a few verses regarding beauty that may be of interest or encouragement to you:

Esther 2:12 – “Before a girl’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.” Can you say “spa treatment?” Even in Esther’s day, physical beauty was highly esteemed and labor-intensive.

Proverbs 31:30 – “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” This is one of my absolute favorite verses in Scripture. As a fifty-one-year old woman, I know that beauty is fleeting. But when I look into the mirror, not just at my face but into my eyes, I see a woman radiant with love for her God. Mind you, I look more radiant when I have taken a little time to care for my skin and enhance those eyes with a little mascara! It is said that “beauty is skin deep” and that “the eyes are the window to the soul.” Next time you gaze at yourself in the mirror, look into your own eyes and see if you don’t see some hidden beauty just beneath the surface.

1 Peter 3:3-5 – “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.” The saying “pretty is as pretty does” still applies today. The most beautiful woman or handsome man on the planet can suddenly lose all appeal when their behavior is ungodly and their words are venomous. The prettiest person you know may not be nearly as beautiful inside as you are.

So, is plastic surgery a sin? Probably not. But the underlying motivators of pride and fear can be. Ask God to show you if there is some area of your heart that needs a makeover then focus on what his Word says about true beauty. You may suddenly realize that you’re more beautiful than you ever imagined!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

http://devotionalchristian.com/is-plastic-surgery-a-sin/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DevotionalChristian+%28Devotional+Christian%29

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

One afternoon I stopped by the bank to make a few deposits. I was in a rush and needed to get in and out as soon as possible. I had places to go and things I had to do. I picked the worst possible time of day and the worst day of the week to do my banking. But I had been out of town and needed to catch up on errands before the weekend began.

There was only one teller working and the line was about fifteen people deep. After waiting patiently, I got close to the front of the line. Looking back at the dozen or so people who had entered the line after me, I was relieved that the wait was almost over. Unfortunately, the elderly woman who was making a deposit was requiring a lot more assistance than the others who had gone before her.

She must have been 85 years old. She held a cane in one hand and wore a thick pair of glasses that were visible only after she peeled away her sunglasses. They were the kind of sunglasses that fit over her regular glasses and were big enough to block harmful rays from even the nastiest of solar eclipses. They were the kind that retirees used to wear to watch shuttle launches in south Florida. The kind people older people wear when they are consumed by practicality and no longer care as much about fashion.

When she was finally finished with her transaction, she started to make small talk with the teller behind the counter. She did not seem to notice that there were so many people in line behind her. The teller smiled and nodded at everything she said. The old lady told her she reminded her of her daughter. Then she asked the teller whether she had children. She just kept making conversation while the young woman behind the counter provided her with full and undivided attention. She seemed to feel sorry for her. It was as if she appreciated sitting where she was rather than occupying the elderly woman’s shoes.

But there was a younger man in the line who did not feel the same sympathy for the old woman. He glared impatiently at the teller as if to say that she should tell the elderly woman she was holding up the line. He even held out one of his hands and waved at the teller. He was signaling that he had been waiting long enough and that it was time his needs were met. But the teller kept nodding politely and giving the elderly woman her undivided attention.

Someone should have said something to the younger man who was so impatient. He should have understood why the elderly woman was clinging on to the conversation with the young teller. It was probably more than a reminder of her children. More likely, it was a reminder that she had not seen them or talked to them in quite some time.

As soon as she finished talking to the teller, the elderly woman walked out of the bank and headed across the parking lot towards her car. She was walking slowly and labored with every step as she leaned upon her cane for support. She had no one to help her. No husband. No son. No daughter. There was nothing to lean on but a cane.

The younger man who had been so impatient with her needed to hear my pastor talk about the time our church went caroling at the old folks’ home about a year and a half ago. He needed to hear the stories of the elderly people whose lives had been enriched by hearing songs sung to them by people who had never met them before. He needed to hear that elderly people are a treasure and not an inconvenience.

Of course, my pastor was not there to tell him. But I was in the bank that day. In case you haven’t figured it out, the impatient man in the line was me.

I should have dropped what I was doing and given the woman a hand as she made her way across the parking lot. I should have made plans to go back to the retirement home to spend a few hours of visitation. Like you, I probably won’t make it back until Christmas. I have places to go and things I have to do.

Mike Adams

Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts “Womyn” On Campus.

http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2012/04/27/elderly_woman_behind_the_counter_in_a_small_town/page/full/