The Genesis account first and foremost speaks of our ancestry. Who would not be excited to find out that God is actually in their family tree? Think of the significance of that for your soul to know that it has worth and meaning and significance beyond just your measure of wealth, popularity or social status? The fact that you matter is critical for proper self-esteem and dignity. It enables your soul to function in a healthy way.

The word soul in Greek is actually “psyche” from which we get the word psychology, or the study of the soul. Worth and value are fundamentally important elements for healthy living. When we don’t feel we have value, depression and addictive behaviors often lead us to dysfunctional places that can harm ourselves and others. Whole families are often destroyed because of the impact of this sense of meaninglessness that prevails in our culture today.

It does not take long for shame, blame and guilt quickly surface in the story as being deeply embedded in the human condition. We all have a conscience that contains knowledge from God at birth. Ideas about right and wrong, good and evil are embedded in all cultures. The stories we will explore together through the scriptures never candy coat the reality evil. These stories show the good the bad and the ugly. The reality of the human situation in these stories acts as a mirror that will show us how we too are a part of the human condition that has a tendency towards evil.

Evil in its most simple form can be defined as a lack of love that results in selfish behavior at the expense of others unjustly. God wants to express Himself through us but we have marred His image through our own selfishness and greed. God expects what we all expect, justice. From our earliest years we cry “but that was not fair,” and what did our parents often say? Life is not fair. This hits at the issue of our next video which is entitled justice.

The next video is explains the tragic consequences of what happened as a result of the garden story in Genesis 3.