When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes,
and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (see Genesis 3:6).
The deadly tree is called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for a reason. The "good" side of the Tree of Knowledge is just as deadly as the "evil" side. When we seek to stand on "goodness" in place of the cross of Jesus Christ, it is an affront to the cross, an affront to God, and is just as much a root of the rebellion of mankind as the evil. The good side of this tree is probably responsible for as much death as the evil side. The good side is more deceptive, which is why it appeared that it was the good side of the fruit that appealed to Eve.
The fruit looked like it was good to eat. This puts another subtle question in Eve's mind. Why would God withhold something good from her? Many young people fall into this same trap with sex. They think if it feels good, and does not hurt anyone, what's wrong with it? It does hurt someone...you! It will hurt your relationship to your spouse by placing a tragic weakness in the very foundation of your marriage. It will hurt many throughout their lives with the burden of lust, rather than the freedom to love. The very day you eat from that tree, death will start to work in your life. It looks good, but its fruit is poison.
Then it says that the fruit was a "delight to the eyes." Isn't it strange how it went from looking good to being "delightful?" The more we look at sin, the more it will appeal to us. Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-23:
"The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"
Sin almost always begins with looking. Then if we look long enough it will be turned into lust. "Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death" (James 1:15). It is much easier to keep the devil out of the house than it is to get him out once he is in. Resisting sin begins with controlling our eyes.
Job said, "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1) Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look upon that which might cause him to lust. We must do the same. The eye is the lamp of the body. If we are constantly looking at things that we should not, we will constantly be filled with lust. If we determine to only look upon that which is good and upright, our hearts will be filled with that which is good and upright.
Eve listened to the devil, then looked at the sin until it became "delightful." Then came the clincher, it was "desirable to make one wise." There is good wisdom and bad wisdom. There is good, bad, and deadly knowledge. The Lord commended those in the church of Thyatira who had not known the "deep things of Satan" (Revelation 2:24). We must understand the schemes of the devil, but we must resist the temptation to understand the depths of evil.
We read in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." In II Corinthians 10:5 it says, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
The mind is wonderful, but we must learn to discipline ourselves and our thoughts. There is a saying that "we are what we eat." There is truth to this statement, just as Adam and Eve found out in the Garden. They took on the nature of the tree from which they ate. We, too, will tend to take on the nature of what we allow into our minds. We must choose what we are going to eat, and what we are going to allow into our minds and hearts. We must discern the books, television, music, and anything else that we are partaking of. Are they feeding the lusts of the flesh, or Christlikeness?
Remember that the choice is ours. Choose wisely. Choose life by choosing to continually partake of words that lead to life. Let us also choose life by always speaking words that give life. We read before from Ephesians 4:29: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear."