So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:6

In "A View From the Zoo," Gary Richmond, a former zoo keeper, writes of raccoons:

Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that they often attack their owners. Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, I felt compelled to mention the change coming to a pet raccoon owned by a young friend of mine, Julie. She listened politely as I explained the coming danger.

I'll never forget her answer, "It will be different for me ..." And she smiled as she added, "Bandit wouldn't hurt me. He just wouldn't."

Three months later Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations sustained when her adult raccoon attacked her for no apparent reason. Bandit was released into the wild.

So often, we think we're the exception to God's commands. "It will be different for me."

It's a lie. It will not be different. Sin hurts us, just as surely as Bandit ripped up Julie's face.

Adam and Eve felt they could sin and get away with it. They thought they were smarter than God. They thought they would miss out on something they really needed. They bought Satan's lie.

All of us have been paying for it ever since. The consequences of this disobedience have been catastrophic. Sin came. Death came. Guilt came. Walls and barriers went up, shame and distrust.

The whole earth recoiled and has been reeling ever since. All creation groans and it will groan until God brings the new heaven and new earth.

You are not an exception to God's commands. God's commands are for your good. You cannot play with sin and not get snakebitten. Don't kid yourself.

Perhaps right now you are involved with sin - an affair, a lie, an addiction, dishonesty, greed, something else. You are not an exception to the spiritual laws of the universe. You will suffer just as surely as Adam and Eve suffered. Stop now! Call on God's grace and power! Turn from your sin. Receive God's cleansing grace. Be free of sin and guilt.