I see a lot of snakes in Hershey Park. Besides giving them space, I sometimes wonder, “Why?” Do you ever wonder why there are snakes? Of greater interest in this story, why was there a serpent who beguiled Adam and Eve? When and where did sin begin? How did it start?
God created creatures with a capacity for evil. As Paul put it in Romans 7:21, “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” Dallas Willard said, “We want to do good. But we are prepared to do evil.”
Historically, theologians have connected the serpent not with all snakes but as an animal animated by Lucifer, the fallen angel. Revelation calls the devil, the old serpent. Angels apparently had free will as well. When Lucifer fell, sometime before the Garden of Eden, he set out to disrupt God’s good creation. Eve and Adam, in turn, fell for his deception. Predictably, each blamed another. God held them each accountable for their own choices. Sooner or later we all sit down to a big banquet of consequences.
To flip the script on the old comedian Flip Wilson, the devil cannot make us do it. One of my seminary carpool buddies, Wesley Shotwell, used to say, “We are all responsible for our own choices. Evil exists but we do not have to participate in it.” He was right about that and a lot of other things. I suspect we have already been tempted in 2023. Remember the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. God is faithful. When you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it.” Watch out for snakes! If you see one, feel free to run.
