Forbidden Choices Always Promise Gratification

Focusing your thoughts on true, honest, and righteous things is essential. Good thoughts lead to good choices. Forbidden choices always promise incredible gratification, at least in the beginning. They promise to make you feel great and titillate your intellect with images of wonderful endings. They trick you into thinking that you are smarter than God. They are appealing to the eye, possess promising allure, and have a captivating quality, all of which are deceptive.  

Things that are not good for us often appeal to us first through our eyes. We see them, and they somehow intrigue us. The trap that Eve ran into in the Garden of Eden was that some beautiful things could be bad for you. They look good and feel good, but in the end, like manna, they rotten, the worm appears, the hidden degradation reveals itself, and alas, you are trapped and wonder how you could have thought so foolishly.

First, Eve saw the fruit; then, she allowed herself to think about it too much. Be careful how you allow your thoughts to wander as you look at things. Thoughts are like leaven (yeast), permeating your spirit and transforming you. Practice thinking good thoughts; they will lead you to good endings.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Gen 3:6