My Thoughts on Why People Lust After the Forbidden Fruit

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It's past Valentine's Day and I can't deny that I've got the temptation for the forbidden. I was thinking about my struggle for the forbidden. I know it's wrong to do this and that yet I want to do this and that. It's like you know you have to study yet you want to spend the whole night watching TV or playing video games because of school stress. You know you're not allowed to date as a teenager yet you want to do it. Christians may find themselves attracted to unbelievers of the opposite sex though the reasons aren't always physical either. Sometimes, some Christians want to justify their lust for the forbidden fruit with whatever haywire reasoning there is. I don't find myself exempted either because just because I've been made a righteous saint doesn't mean I'm not a forgiven sinner. In short, a forgiven sinner is still a sinner though he or she is restrained by the Holy Ghost.

In psychology, we have the forbidden fruit effect. It's all about the desire for what shouldn't be allowed. There's also the problem of the allure of forbidden relationships. Psychology Today says the following about why people can get into these forbidden relationships:

Forbidden relationships can take many forms: Parents may forbid their children from engaging with certain friends or significant others; friends or family members may disapprove of our relationship partners; or we may fall in love with a coworker, supervisor, or someone who is already committed to a serious relationship. The obstacles to these relationships may be explicit or implied, but these obstacles may actually serve to strengthen our forbidden relationships.  

You can talk about the many times that unequal yokes happen in the Bible. Adam's and Eve' sin in the garden began with the lust for the forbidden fruit. The result soon was spread down to all of Adam's descendants. Cain's descendants became involved in the forbidden. Soon, Genesis 6 describes the downfall of the Sethite line - righteous sons of God began to chase the forbidden. These righteous sons of God soon began to intermarry with the Cainite women. The Bible doesn't say they were seduced. The Bible says the Sethite men who married the Cainite women found the latter attractive. Though it's not always physical attractiveness that makes the forbidden fruit desirable. There's always this curiosity about the consequences. 

There's always this desperation that makes you forget logic that feeds this desire for the forbidden. Samson knew he had a mission and the Philistines were hated. Yet, Judges 13-16 tells you his sad story. Samson was a champion against the Philistines. However, Samson soon fell for three Philistine women - his wife, a harlot in Gaza with whom he had a one-night stand, and Delilah who led to this downfall. You can think of how Samson flirted in danger in the form of Delilah.  Samson forgot that the very same reason why Israel fell into apostasy was when the Israelite men intermarried with the pagan women of Canaan. A new generation of unbelieving Israelites was a result of that unequal yoke. Yet, why did they go after those heathen women. I don't think they had a lack of beautiful women. Perhaps, they found these strange women more attractive (at least for them) or maybe it was because they were forbidden. I would think that maybe the Jewish women were attractive yet there was no thrill attached to them. Perhaps, they started finding the attractive Jewish women around them less enticing than the attractive women (who may not be that attractive) because of the allure of the forbidden. It's possible they sought more than just the beauty - they sought the thrill of the forbidden. That means even if the Jewish woman was far more physically attractive - they went for the Canaanite women because of the off-limits sign. It does happen that a much more attractive good woman gets ditched for a less attractive (but still attractive) wanton woman. It's because good girl doesn't have that thrill as a bad girl does and the wicked heart has the tendency to choose the wicked. 

The big root of the forbidden fruit is one thing - the problem of the heart. Do you ever realize the heart is a very disobedient thing? Why do you think good parents have a lot of headaches raising their children? It's because good parents spank or ground their children when they're naughty. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned - we have sin passed down through their descendants and we're all affected by it. We may all be Seth's and Noah's many-times great-grandchildren but we all follow the path of Cain and Nimrod. Nimrod was a great-grandson of Noah yet he led the great rebellion in Shinar (Genesis 11). The rebellious nature is found in the hearts of everyone ever since Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit. God said no and both of them disobeyed such a simple order. Isn't it any wonder why it's very hard to squash disobedience? A country can have good peace and order yet it's only a result of authorities' vigilance. Countries with good peace and order will still have prison cells filled with low lives, criminals who will still cause trouble, and rebellious people because of the human heart. In fact, the end of the Millennium Kingdom will have many of the people born as naturals in it rebel after Satan is set free after the era is over. It's because the big problem is in the human heart. Sure, the environment can influence for the better (ex. having a better set of friends) yet some people will eventually rebel if given the chance. I guess that's why God allows Satan to be freed after the Millennium - to finally purge away the rebellious remnants for good. 

It hasn't been easy for me either. I've had some forbidden courtships and attractions with unbelieving women myself. I'm told not to go after an unbeliever and I did more than once. I'm told not to respond to insults by hitting someone and I tend to do it. I'm told to love my enemies yet I find myself hating them to the point I've wanted them dead more than once. The sinful thoughts are there to go from one forbidden fruit after the other. It's not something to be proud of or to try and deal with myself alone. Rather, it's something to be ashamed about. Sure, there are attractive Christian women but I find myself still drawn to such women maybe because my flesh seeks only to sin and not to please God. I fail in these areas when I trust myself. It's like how Samson failed to overcome Delilah when he trusted himself. It's like how often I try to overcome my bad habits with my own strength only to lapse. Problems like my compulsive lying are hard to overcome since lying is but a symptom of being a sinner. Some people aren't swindlers and thieves by profession yet can't help but lie a lot (especially those who are trying to escape reality from time to time) because of some psychological disorder. Psychological disorders are a consequence of Adam's and Eve's sin passed down to all humanity. What I need is constant fellowship when it comes to this lust for the forbidden fruit.

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