I’ve continued to meditate on good and evil. It is hard for me to fathom what it was like for Adam and Eve. No sin. There was no conscious awareness of good and evil…until they sinned. In Genesis 3:5 the serpent set the bait. It says, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Adam and Eve were created beings. They had no past. They enjoyed a full and open relationship with the Lord. Why did they hide after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? For the first time in their lives they knew the difference between right and wrong. They passed it onto their children.

Cain knew he had done wrong, and that is why he hid his sin. You and I are born with the knowledge of right and wrong. Romans 12:21 Amplified says, “Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.” What did God say to Cain? Genesis 4:7 says, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it.” The Amplified says, “…but you must master it.”

How do we master the temptation to sin that is crouching at our door, ready to spring out and capture us? The key is ‘do not let’ because it is up to us. No one can stop us except ourselves. Have you ever tried to convince someone not to sin? I have. I’ve plead to no avail. 1 Peter 2:1 says, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.” Where do these five things come from?

Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” For years I read this verse and let it roll off my me like water rolls off a ducks back. Why? I didn’t think that they applied to me. Yet, they perfectly define inner defilement.

Evil thoughts are anything that opposes God. Negative dialogue against yourself, others, or your circumstances fall into that category. Hidden sin taints our thoughts. Verse 20 says, “These are the things which defile a man…” Our heart is the seed bed. What we sow into our heart will be reaped through out thoughts which become actions.

What are good thoughts? Any thought that glorifies the Lord. They are thoughts that please Him. David wrote several Psalms that pertain to this truth. Psalm 19:14 is a good one to inculcate. It says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Our thoughts are totally open before the Lord. With that in mind, wouldn’t we want to please Him with our thoughts? Hidden sin is a total and absolute deception, we being the ones deceived.