Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”’ ‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked…”
At the heart of the fall is a desire for knowledge apart from God. The serpent promised enlightenment, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Humanity reached for wisdom on its own terms, but instead found shame and separation.
This is the oldest story of artificial intelligence: human beings trying to create their own pathway to godlike wisdom, cutting God out of the picture. The lie was not in desiring wisdom, but in grasping it independently of God. True wisdom cannot be seized, it must be received as gift.
Our world still reaches for forbidden fruit. Whether through science, technology, or AI, the temptation is the same: to think we can become like God. Yet every attempt apart from Him ends in disappointment and death. Only in returning to Him do we find life.
Where are you tempted to seek wisdom apart from God’s word and Spirit?
Lord, keep me from reaching for wisdom on my own terms. Teach me to depend on you as the only source of true knowledge and life.