Intractable temptations & "child's play"...

My four year old son and eight year-old daughter are currently obsessed with Curious George.

PBSKIDS.ORG has been getting its share of hits from their little IMac in our library.
Many trees have been recreated in the image of a cute little primate and a fellow dressed in all yellow.

My son is also going through a stage of curiosity to match his newest animated obsession.

So, this thought seems very appropriate and it comes by way of my brother. He asked me about the difference between sins, which initially entice people through innocent curiosity and then those that latter dog people until their marriages collapse from two dimensional sexual relationships online, or maybe until their 3D veins collapse from needles filled with chemical nirvana.

The issue is the power of knowledge.
Both, knowledge & power are often discussed by teachers and politicians alike.

The mantra comes as "Knowledge is Power."

And it is true enough. Satan didn't offer an absolute lie to Eve and Adam. They did get knowledge, after-all. And consider the power that devolved from accepting will over their own destinies. Yes, I control my own destiny. POWER IS MINE.

The fruit was there daily.
It was pleasing to the eye.
It was new and unexplored
What would it be like to be God? Curiosity!

Our ability to abstain from moral degradation is far more manageable prior to knowledge, than after the first taste of the forbidden fruit.
Just ask an alcoholic. 'If only I had never taken that first drink.'
Ask a "crank" (methamphetamine) addict. 'If I had never taken the first hit.'
Ask a porn addict, gambling addict, sex addict, extreme X game junky, blogger addict, etc. etc. ad infinitum ad nauseum.

Whatever, we are talking about, whether its lying, cheating, stealing, or killing; Once the knowledge of the carnal thrill moves across our spiritual palate, we are forever haunted by the 'joy' of our vise. Now our personal demon has our number, he knows where our armor is weak. Our heal is exposed to the continual rain of arrows from the Nemesis of humanity. Our knowledge erodes away our will for holiness and we are justly forced to fight our spiritual battles with the enemy inside the gates.

There is no escape from our knowledge and our hubris, because we consumed that, for which we had no appetite, only a vague curiosity of what could be.

The same temptation is therefore both the weakest and the strongest. The perspective of knowledge is the only difference between them.

So take caution.
The tree; the knowledge is power, indeed.
But, do you need food or power?

God bless,
DSM