God knows that in the day you eat from it . . . you will be like God. – Genesis 3:5
Satan came on the scene in Genesis 3 and questioned, “Has God said . . .?” In so doing, Satan wanted to attack God’s authority. He rebelled against God’s ownership by refusing to be a steward of God’s glory, and he was booted out of heaven because he wanted his own glory. Ever since, he’s been trying to get men and women to follow in his footsteps. He told Adam and Eve to take the forbidden fruit for themselves, to set their own rules and stop being stewards of God.
Satan was trying to convince Adam and Eve to take ownership of their surroundings, but as we see, whenever people fail to rule underneath God; abuse and lawlessness will result. The definition of sin is lawlessness in all respects of life (1 John 3:4).
Adam and Eve didn’t want to be restricted from the one forbidden tree. God had given them permission to eat from all the other trees, but that wasn’t good enough for them. They thought God was denying them property rights. Satan sold them the lie that they should have ownership.
Satan is the adversary of stewardship because he wants men to rebel against God by seeking ownership for themselves. The devil encourages us to focus on what we don’t have rather than what God has graciously given us, and he skews our perception so that we see God’s commands as restrictive rather than protective. God has given you many things—focus on the things that you can have and enjoy the blessings of true freedom in Him.
