Eve's Apple

Adam and Eve were in paradise and blissfully unaware to things that plague everyday man. Rent, social expectations, horrible bosses, traffic, etc. They lived in the utopian garden, fruitful of everything they would ever need. Yet, Eve ate the apple out of desire for wisdom and to have the capability of knowing right and wrong. She was lured in by something she did not have at the time—and something she was warned would change her forever. And she ate it anyway. What would your modern day apple be?

Todays temptations; what would you say would lure you in to change your current life? Money? Fame? Love? Something that could be detrimental to the life you have now? Or would you be better off? While Eve might not have loved the punishment that came after, it does seem like there is a bit of empowerment in the knowledge she gained after the bite—as if waking up from a dream. She learned she was naked, she learned she was not immortal. Forgive me if my retelling of the book of Genesis is incorrect—also forgive my biblical approach today with this post. However, I see the apple not through the traditional Christian lens of sin and human imperfection but rather as a symbol of curiosity and desire. The serpent explains that eating the apple will make her "like God" meaning she would gain awareness and autonomy—something she did not even realize she could have and suddenly wanted more than anything. Amidst God's warnings about the fruit of the forbidden tree, he says that she would die, should she eat it. Technically, that remains true as once she bit into it she became aware of human characteristics, among them being mortality. Would you have bit into it? Part of being human is knowing that life is fleeting, so we do our best to live our greatest way now, while adhering to our own personal morals. Would you rather live in blissful oblivion, or be cursed with the knowledge that life will end?

As usual, a census has been gathered amongst group chats and there were some answers I had not even thought of. I want to preface that the point of the prompt 'what would your modern day apple be?' is meant to incite an answer that means your understanding of the world would flip completely. One said their apple would be financial freedom, which I would also bite into. Another said her apple of temptation would be assurance—a playbook of right and wrong choices that would lead to a life she wanted or would validate the current choices she has made. Another friend said he would want selfishness without consequences. All super tempting apples but would we be better off after the bite? Financial freedom sounds absolutely wonderful and stress free, but given that billionaires' hands are never clean, nor their money earned by the book, would you be able to continue life as happily as you are now knowing where the money comes from? A playbook that is essentially a recipe for the life you want sounds superb, but personally I would be super curious as to what would happen if I tore a page out, or used spice instead of sugar. And selfishness without consequence just sounds like the world aflame honestly. A friend of mine who is trans said his apple would be testosterone and truly I think that is one of the few life-fulfilling apples with no downside.

Perhaps I am reframing, but to me Eve wasn't truly tempted by chaos but by understanding. She already had food, safety, and love, but what she didn't have is perspective. The serpent doesn't say 'be bad.' He says 'know.' There lies the hook—knowledge promises agency and awareness. The ability to name things for yourself instead of accepting them as given. So the bite isn't rebellion for rebellions sake, but the moment curiosity overrides the written rule. I feel that is part of why this book lasts in so many ways. Most 'sins' don't start as wicked impulses. They begin as questions: why can't I have that? Why am I not allowed to decide for myself? Why was I not born wealthy? Who knows, maybe if those apple's were ripe for the picking we'd adapt to them eventually. Adam and Eve did. We wear clothes, we live knowing it will end, we cherish the ones we love. Modern people don't live in Eden—we live after the bite, constantly negotiating what we wish we didn't know and what we can't stop wanting anyway. Eve didn't eat the apple because she was sinful—she ate it because she was human. The temptation of knowledge is still as appealing today as it was in times B.C. Our apples look like money, love, fame, or self-awareness, but they all promise the same thing: this will make you whole. The tragedy isn't that we reach for them—it's that once we do, we can't go back to not knowing what we're missing.