Sometimes enough is not enough.

At long last we’d discovered the perfect cereal. The commercial unveiled that this cereal was so delicious it had to be shrouded in secrecy. Enjoy it in hiding or you’ll be overrun by other cereal connoisseurs! Now, how to convince Mom to buy it…

Our first glimpse of this holy grail of cereals appeared in a commercial during that magical ritual for kids of our era—Saturday morning cartoons. We were entranced! Boy, someone did a great job on the ad campaign! We HAD to have that new cereal! So we begged Mom to buy it. She said “No. You have plenty of cereals to choose from.”

Why does the forbidden possess such mystique? You’d never know from our begging that we had plenty. We had so many boxes of cereal that my brother built walls around his bowl so he didn’t have to see us making faces at him while he hunkered down to eat.

Why did we feel the “need” for a new cereal when we had plenty of favorites? Sin taps into a mystique when we feel we are denied something. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to try something new. But sin taps into the mystery of what we don’t have. It makes us question why something so necessary is being withheld from us.

Does this sound familiar? We had an assortment of cereals to choose from. But we felt a desperate need for what we didn’t have. And we weren’t the first to think that something important was being withheld from us.

Rewind all the way back to the beginning. Eve felt the pull of the mystique in the midst of a wealth of choices. Have you noticed that there were two sides of God’s first command in the Garden? And have you noticed that one side was totally ignored?

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Adam and Eve enjoyed variety in fruit from the permitted trees. That is, until the serpent came along. How did he tempt Eve? He tapped into a weakness. She could be enticed by the mystique of the forbidden. So he crafted his question to tap into her weakness: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

Did you catch that? He planted in her mind a far more insidious question, “What was she missing out on?” His seduction coaxed her to focus on what she was not allowed. Focusing on the forbidden, she ignored all that God permitted. God had graciously allowed her to eat freely from many trees. Freely! From many trees!

Suddenly, enough was not enough. A variety of delicious and nutritious fruit couldn’t satisfy her. Was God holding out? Satan insinuated that God was keeping something good to Himself: “God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

More than enough was not enough. Can you see how sin works in our hearts? If we perceive that we’re missing out on something, we lose sight of all that we have. God’s bounty fades when we become mesmerized by what we’re missing. In fact, what we hope to acquire becomes an unmovable mountain on our horizon. We must have it!

Humanity still falls for this tactic. My brothers and I proved that. And so do you and I much too often. The world, the flesh and the devil regularly dupe us. Is there any hope?

In this study, I want us to consider how to put to death this mystique of the forbidden. God had provided help in His word. But Eve focused on the prohibition and Satan used that to lead her to wonder what she was missing. Instead, she should have taken time to ponder how bountifully God had provided for her. In other words, instead of zeroing in on Gen 2:17, she should have dwelled on Gen 2:16!

Likewise, my brothers and I should have focused on all the cereal choices we had in front of us (which Mom wisely pointed out), instead of focusing on what we couldn’t have. There is more to dealing with sinful desires, but at the moment I want us to consider how to fight the mystique of the forbidden.

First, trade the mystique of the forbidden for the generosity of the Giver. Focus on all that God has done, for “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37). Practice focusing on the rich provisions God has made. Using that, mentally build a mountain of contentment to crush the mountain of resentment.

When you find yourself focusing on what you don’t have, apply the truth from 1 Tim 6:17 to your life. Focus on the generosity of God who “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy”. Meditate on this phrase word-by-word, answering this question for each of the key words, “How has God supplied good things to me? How has He done so richly? And so on.”  Answer those questions carefully and list specific things He has supplied, etc.

Notice how Paul did this in his response to the people of Lystra, trying to point them to the one true God. Paul called out specific examples of God’s generosity to all men “in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

Notice two levels of gratitude there. We should be grateful because of what God has given: rains and fruitful seasons. And we should be grateful for the inner benefit that God’s gifts ought to produce: satisfaction and gladness.

Second, once you have cultivated gratefulness in the exercise above, practice giving thanks to God. Each time you give thanks, remind yourself that God’s provisions are never stingy. Convince yourself anew that you are not missing out on something. As a believer, you have all things in Christ. Mentally embrace God’s generosity. Delight in the variety He provides. Be satisfied in His generosity.

A helpful exercise is to meditate your way through Psalm 107. Its theme is presented up front, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting”. The writer takes you through ancient Israel’s struggles with things they didn’t have, how they often reacted badly, yet God in His goodness and faithfulness provided for them. The psalm deals with everyday needs and wants. It is designed to help God’s people “give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness” (v. 31).

Back to that new cereal. Mom finally weakened from our desperate pleas and bought a box. And guess what…we hated it! Boy were we duped! Being a good mom, she made us finish the box before she bought any more cereal. It was a lesson in being seduced by the mystique of the forbidden.

Arrest your obsession with what you don’t have. Flood your mind with thoughts of God’s generosity through specific gratefulness and thanks. Trade the mystique of the forbidden for satisfaction in God’s abundant provisions.

Under the fig tree:

What are examples of the “mystique” that tempt you? In contrast to what you’re “missing”, what has God abundantly supplied?