Family Matters 3 – Sources of Division in Families

¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” ⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” ¹² Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Division can take place in our natural or biological families, in the body of Christ (believers) and in our national families.

What are some sources of division in the family?

Adding to God’s Word (vs 3)

This is an example of going beyond what God had said. Adding to God’s word is dangerous (see Rev 22: 18) because:

• It can mislead people
• It can become a form of manipulation
• It can cause others’ faith to malfunction

“Not adding to God’s Word takes discipline’” – Pastor Billy Johnson

Minimizing the Consequences (vs 4 & 5)

The enemy will never show us the full consequences of our actions. His goal is to kill, steal and destroy. We need to be careful to not step out of bounds. It is important to ask ourselves what are the consequences if we continue with our course of action?

“Eventually the edge becomes the middle… because the enemy always increases the boundary.’’ – Dr. D’Ann Johnson

Being Dissatisfied (vs 6; 1 John 2:16)

The enemy created the scene where what Eve had was not enough. She became dissatisfied with everything she had for the one thing she didn’t have. God has to open our eyes to see the value of what we already have.

“Sometimes instead of valuing the 80% we go after the 20%” – Pastor Billy Johnson

Misusing Influence (vs 6 & 7)

Eve misused her influence. According to 1 Tim 2: 14, Adam was not deceived, but he was influenced. Women have a God-given gift of influence. God gave influence so we can build people up – not to misuse it or manipulate others.

 

 

Covering Sin (vs 7 & 8)

The very first place we see the ‘Presence of God’ in Scripture, human beings were hiding from it. Prov 28:13 admonishes us to confess our sins, not cover them up. If we don’t uncover our sins with each other, we are less likely to uncover them to God. Covering up our sins fractures our families even more. We need to live a life of honesty.

Placing Blame (vs 9-13)

By asking “where are you?”, God gave Adam and Eve an opportunity to come clean with Him. Remember David who took responsibility by saying “I have sinned against you.” Come clean with God and avoid a life of division, where you are divided from God.

Closing thoughts: If you have an issue with someone, deal with it and don’t be a source of division in your family.