LightGrams
January 3, 2019
Volume 23, Number 1
The world is abuzz this morning with stories about Apple, manufacturer of computers and smartphones. The news centers around Tim Cook’s warning to investors on January 2 to expect lower sales numbers. The Apple CEO noted a slowdown in sales in China, a market responsible for about 15% of iPhone sales. China’s economy is in a downturn, something Cook and other Apple executives did not foresee.
There are other reasons for slowing iPhone sales. With the introduction of the iPhone X (to celebrate 10 years of iPhones), prices leaped to new levels. In recent weeks the cost of some models reached $1,000 or more. As a result consumers are beginning to question their loyalty to the brand as they search for more economical smartphones.
Let me reveal my age by reminiscing about days when cell phones were not so pricey. It took me awhile to get into this medium of communication; now it’s hard to imagine not having a smartphone. But counting the cost will drive people to make hard decisions.
Eve was one who should have pondered more carefully the cost of eating the fruit hanging within her reach. Popular culture nearly always portrays that fruit as an apple; the Bible doesn’t say. It could have been a mango or a pomegranate.
Here’s what we know from God’s word: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16,17). Imagine: every fruit in the Garden of Eden was theirs to enjoy. Only one was off-limits. What part of that proposition was hard to understand?
But we know the sad outcome to that account. After the serpent (Satan) lied, saying, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), Eve did what God had forbidden. She knew the cost of transgressing that one command – death. Obviously the serpent deceived her, and succeeded in shattering her trust in the One who placed them in Eden.
Does this ancient account have any relevance to us? Paul affirmed that it does: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
God’s will can be understood by anyone who is serious about knowing it. But Satan still lures people to turn away and focus on what is more pleasurable, more agreeable to our human wisdom, less offensive to the world. We reach for the forbidden and we suffer the consequences.
Whether an apple or an affair, we still struggle with heeding God’s perfect will for us.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
~~~~~
Copyright, 2019, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “Tim@GraceMine.org” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
Permission to reproduce and/or use the messages for noncommercial purposes is freely granted provided the messages are not altered.