A Pastor in the old country once lamented about how one of his daughters had relations with an older man to whom she was not betrothed. He was a travelling saleman peddling old books printed on the first gutenburg press containing great knowledge. The old Pastor had always taught his daughter to seek wisdom and that wisdom was to begin with the reverence or fear of the Lord.
Her betrothed was busy working at the first zoo and museum being opened in their town and was busy working on the names of some new unclassified species. She was supposed to come along and help in this great enterprise as funded by the Local Christian University. She was a bit rebellious and found her self walking in the town alone when she met the salesman at the soda and sandwich shop. She had already enjoyed conjugal rights with her betrothed husband as was the custom. The date for ceremony and celebration was to uh come. The travelling salesman with his precious books wandered past to see her sitting alone looking out the window with teacup in hand. He wandered in and sat down, offering her many a book. She said she was not supposed to speak to strangers and had not any need for books like this with her love for the Lord. He said they would make her wise and more powerful than her husband. There was nothing wrong with the knowledge but the intention it seems because she saw her choice. If I read the books to fear the Lord and study to show myself approved, God will honor my Godly motive and with patience, my fear of Him will win the test over time. If I read these books only to have more power and authority over my husband, I have pledged myself to another Lord. This would have been the motive that was the true cause of any fall for Eve and the desire to hide the shame behind threads and leaves( they were really good threads with not a stitch out of sort). She also realised that knowledge without understanding is not wisdom. Wisdom and understanding are congruent but knowledge alone is a fixed variable. Hence, today we have an atom bomb but a depleted ozone layer. To whom has mankind subjected itself; after all? Maybe Eve should have heard what was being offered. What was being offered was a broken covenant between God and herself in addition to her husband. What Eve should have realised is that the serpent did not make her but God made the serpent. No creature could be wiser than the creator. The young lady realised that every instruction may come with a test. It is good to revere the Lord and not to forget his provision and that if he did exclude something from the shopping list, it was for your uh health. The young lady decided to read the books with the right motive but only after revering the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6)with a silent prayer about this stranger( with whom she had just a little sandwich and somehow, it felt like it was worth the respect) after which she found the peace to read them alone with a picture of her husband in front of her and with a bible beside her. She ended up becoming one of the founders of Good Housekeeping and Life magazine. Her daughter was one of the world's first female Astronauts. She saw that her mother's faith in being close to God and keeping covenants brought her out of the stratosphere with peace. So put those pork or beef ribs away unless all the fat was cut off and don't deep fry them. If you eat too much, you shall surely have a coronary and die.
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