Genesis 3:1-6

“Decide not rashly. The decision made

  Can never be recalled. The gods implore not,

    Plead not, solicit not; they only offer

      Choice and occasion, which once being passed

        Return no more. Dost thou accept the gift?”

       Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Forgive me friend, for the decision I made that fateful day. I was not thinking of you—my thoughts were only of myself.  I am Eve, mother of all the living. If I close my eyes, I can still remember the sweetness of walking with God in the cool of the day.  That was before my heart flirted with temptation; before I made my fatal error.  Adam and I knew that the serpent was crafty. I underestimated, however, the seductive power of his voice. I thought I could handle a conversation with him. How wrong I was. Conversations require cooperation. To cooperate you must grant authority to influence.  The serpent’s influence was deadly. The more I spoke with him, the more reasonable his words became. Then I started to doubt what I formerly knew as true. I began to wonder if God’s ways were in my best interest. I questioned if God really meant what He said about the tree. Suddenly the serpent’s words became an option: perhaps I could eat and not die.  I imagined how good the fruit would taste—though the garden was filled with delicacies. I considered how pretty the fruit was—though the garden was flooded with beauty. I thought of how wise I could become—though I walked with the Author of all wisdom.  Yes, the serpent was deceptive but I held the power of choice. I chose to hold a conversation with him. I chose to make his words an option. I chose to elevate my desires above God’s will. Ultimately, my choice altered human history.  All choices do.”  It is with this thought that we must be careful, not only to what we say, but also, to what we hear.  Everyone has probably been in a situation where it would have been more prudent to walk away than to stick around.  This is dangerous because it offers an opportunity for negative, draining and oftentimes, sinful thinking to enter your mind.  It is the reason that Paul admonished us in Romans 12:1-2 that our minds should be transformed.  He understood that the conversations that cause decisions not only affect the people within the conversation, but it affects anyone that comes in contact with the people within the conversation.  Where do you want your family to be 5 years from today?  Could it be that the conversations and decisions that are made this week will affect the destination?  Take some time today, and pray that God will give you the wisdom to walk away from conversations and decisions that could prove fatal.