The man said, “The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
(Genesis 3:12-13)
In just one simple statement, Adam placed the responsibility of the Fall squarely on both Eve and God — the former for tempting him to eat the forbidden fruit and the latter for having created the former. And Eve, perhaps realizing she couldn’t use the same excuse, pushed the buck to the serpent.
Somehow, it is in our nature to point fingers at others when things go awry. Even from a tender age, we are already quite adept at shirking responsibility and feigning innocence (and it is clear from whom did we inherit this trait from).
Of course, Mr and Mrs Adam were not exactly wrong. It is true that Eve did gave Adam the fruit. It is also true that the serpent did use a half-lie to entice Eve. But in both instances, Eve chose to listen to the serpent, and Adam chose to remain silent.
For some reason, we find it hard to say “sorry, it is my fault“. We find it difficult to acknowledge “I’m wrong“.
Perhaps it is the fear of having our veneer of infallibility peeled off that we quickly shift the blame to other people, to outside circumstances, to some unseen forces of nature or even to… God.
Happier times in Eden.
In My Words... 