Eve's Desire

This could get a little messy, but go with me for a moment.

In the first few chapters of Genesis, after God created the earth and Adam and Eve are living in the Garden, something huge happens. Adam and Eve disobey God by eating an apple off of a tree in the middle of the garden and believing Satan's lies.

Needless to say, God wasn't pleased by their behavior. After cursing the serpent and proclaiming that one day Jesus would come (Genesis 3:15), He turns to Eve.

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."                                                                                         (Genesis 3:16)

 Hopefully the meaning of these verses doesn't escape you. So now Eve will be in a lot of pain when she has children (thank you, Eve, that gives me something fun to look forward to), but her husband will also rule over her. Yes, I know that last part is a bit controversial in today's age, but I don't want to focus on that now.

What I want to discuss is this key phrase: "Your desire will be for your husband."

What does that exactly mean? After previously reading this verse I assumed it meant just what it says, but lately I've been pondering some additional options. I've noticed in the past couple of years that I like to read romance novels, watch "chick flicks," and daydream about my (possible) future wedding. (Did you know there is an entire reality TV show where women shop for wedding dresses? And why do women find that interesting to watch? Any guesses? But I digress.) There have been times when I've just had to pray that God would take away my desire for a special someone because it flooded my mind so often.

Girls generally get into trouble with emotions, especially where romance is concerned. It is all too easy to assume things. For instance, it's easy to think that "he must be so in love with me to show up at the same place, same time every day." Maybe so, but realizing that you're both required to be in English class sort of puts that statement into perspective. Likewise, scribbling your name and his name on every piece of paper available is overdoing it a bit; it is allowing your imagination to run wild, and, more often than not, that turns into a big problem.

All of this has led me to a question: Where do girls get this stuff from? Obviously God created male and female, so there is something to it, and society does play a role in it as well. But, seriously, do we need all of this baggage simply to grasp the concept of marriage and procreation?

Does this statement by God, "Your desire will be for your husband," have anything to do with it? I wonder if it might. It was a curse, telling Eve and all future women that their eyes would not only be for their Lord God, but for earthly men who, though necessary to the function and continuation of life, cannot compare. Perhaps, that a relationship with God would no longer be a walk in the garden, so to speak, because it would be even more difficult to focus all thoughts on God and not on guys.



Could there be something to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:34?

"An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband."

These are just some thoughts, and of course I'm not against love or marriage; I quite look forward to it. However, this does teach me more about my own heart and mind, and it also encourages me to continue to pursue God solely while I am unmarried and while I am only "concerned about the Lord's affairs."

What is my desire? Where do my thoughts really lie? These are two important questions to think on.