2013 Term 1 Week 2 - Sinning by doing nothing

To start us off we will be looking at Genesis 3, particularly at how Adam sinned. It is my belief that we (guys) sin in a similar way to Adam. So this passage tells us not only about how sin entered our world, it also informs us about how we follow in Adam's footsteps.

Men, in general, sin more by omission (absence). That is to say we sin by leaving something good undone. Adam is the first example of this. The snake was causing much confusion and Adam held back waiting for more certainty before he spoke. Adam was with Eve (Gen 3:6) and let her do the talking. He waited for her to make it safe for him. Then he blamed her when they got into trouble. The strategy Adam used is still used by men today. It is as ingenious as it is diabolical. We will look at examples of other Biblical characters in Genesis as well as common situations in today's world.

Examples:

• During devotions when a hard question is asked everyone goes quiet waiting for someone else to make it safe to have the discussion.
• In group conversation when everything goes quiet, the guys wait for someone braver to break the ice.
• At planning meetings, when asked what class do you want to run this term, guys wait for an idea to be put forward because its less risky to adapt an idea than to suggest one.
• When a guy likes a girl he will try to reduce the risk before he asks her out, which is fine until the acceptable risk is defined. In most cases we want the risk so low that there is no longer a place for courage or boldness.
• We notice someone is not themselves and do not ask them about it as it is none of our business/I'd only make it worse/it would be awkward/it's not my gift/I don't know how/etc
• "Does my bum look big in this?"
• "What are you thinking?"
• "My parents are getting a divorce."

This week will focus more on seeing how wide spread this problem is. Next week will look at some of the contributing factors..