Eve and Mary

"I have acquired a man with the Lord." Genesis 4. 1

"Here is the slave of the Lord." Luke 1. 36

Eve and Mary : two great women of the Bible. Eve, the first woman of humanity, listens to the tempter's voice (Gen. 3). She does not refer to her husband, "her boss" from whom she came, but speaks with the serpent (the devil) and finally accepts this attractive proposition : "you will be like God [or gods], knowing the good and the evil ". What a proposition, what promotion : abandon a position of dependence to have omnipotence and all-knowledge ! Thus a deadly venom is inoculated in the spirit of Eve, and by it in that of the whole human family : "you will be like God" (Genesis 3: 5). Henceforth, pride, to varying degrees certainly, will be lodged in the hollow of the mind of every human being, believing himself understood. For Eve, this poison manifests itself at the birth of Cain; she says : "I have acquired a man with the Lord" (Gen. 4: 1) without mentioning Adam, yet a stakeholder. Is it not pride that blinds him ? And is it not God who is sovereignly decisive of all procreation ?

However, Eve goes through a terrible ordeal: the murder of her son Abel by her other son, Cain. It seems that this led her to judge her pride ; for at the birth of Seth, she said : "God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel" (Genesis 4:25).

Mary is just as much a part of the fallen human family, but she shows a very different behavior when she announces the birth of Jesus. She feels and affirms her dependence on God who grants her this extraordinary favor of being the mother of the Messiah. She does not avail herself of this, but she humbly expresses her gratitude to God for her sovereign choice (Luke 1: 46-55).

Even if we each have a little of this initial poison in our heart, it is not inevitable that it manifests itself. If, like Mary, we live near God, we will feel our dependence on Him. We will also be grateful for all his blessings.

But if pride sometimes appears in our thoughts and words, we will always be able to repent sincerely and return to the path of dependence and gratitude to God.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)