Satan Tempts Eve with a Higher Status

I find it interesting that in Genesis 3:5 Satan tempts Eve with a higher position. He says: “and you will be like God.” It seems to me that it is part of our nature to be discontent with our position in relation to others. We want to be above others, or at least on an equal level. So this is part of the temptation we find in this passage. If you eat the fruit you could have an equal status with God. That was the promise of Satan anyway. Obviously it did not work out that way.

Being discontent with your social status, workplace position, or even with the fact that someone has more knowledge than you is a form of envy. In several places including Ephesians 6:5 we are commanded to obey our masters and serve wholeheartedly as if to the Lord. If we are in envy of the people above us, we would not be serving wholeheartedly; the two cannot co-exist. Jesus was clear that the work of His kingdom is most effectively done from the bottom of the social ladder. In John 13 He washes the disciple’s feet and commands them to do the same. We often times mask our envy for higher positions behind the excuse that we could better advance the kingdom. This is a lie and a temptation from the Devil. The kingdom is most effectively advanced from the bottom of the ladder.