Love: What do Adam and Eve have to do with it?

We know Eve falls to the temptation of the serpent (i.e. the devil) and eats the forbidden fruit, dragging Adam down with her. God has to apply disciplinary action and passes judgment on Adam and Eve after cursing the serpent.

Women have Eve to blame for childbirth pain (and probably PMS) according to verse 16 of Genesis 3. Verse 17 of the same chapter says, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” You see, God passed this ruling on Eve, and women still struggle with it today.

This is where God “individualized” man and woman and gave them their assignments on Earth. Prior to eating the fruit, everything was fabulous in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve walked side by side, pretty much doing whatever they wanted, together. They didn’t have to think about what to wear, (they were naked…) what to eat, or who would do the dishes and take out the garbage. There was nothing for them to worry about or fight about.

After the fall, Adam and Eve were assigned “work” by God because of their disobedience. Man would have to work 12 hours a day preparing the soil, planting, and harvesting in order to feed his family and supply their needs. Woman would bear the children, raise them, cook, and clean. She became the nurturer and would hold everything together.

Because woman is a multi-tasker, she would busy herself with all her work while longing for the good ol’ days when she and Adam vacationed in the Garden of Eden. Her desire was for her husband and his attentiveness towards her.

Man, on the other hand, threw himself into his work. Only able to focus on one thing at a time, he became unaware of the difficulties his wife faced. He compartmentalized the memories from the Garden of Eden and forgot about the joy he once shared with the woman. Work became his passion. God made him the head of the house and he ruled over the woman.

When God designated man as the ruler over woman, He did not intend for her to be a slave to man. She wasn’t put there for him to boss around and use as a doormat, or to physically and emotionally abuse at his will. “Ruling over the woman” was an assignment from God. Someone had to take the lead and God gave that task to the man. After all, he came first. It would be woman’s ‘cross to bear’ because of her disobedience.

Ever since Eve, women have struggled to allow men to take the lead. That was Eve’s punishment for eating the fruit. Today, it’s become an enormous battle that has caused our society great damage. Some women want to be the same as men, or even better. In fact, it seems they want to take over, take the lead. God made men and women different to compliment each other, not to be the same.