If you’ve ever read the book of Genesis you’ve read the story of Adam & Eve and the origin of sin. Most of you can feel free to stop reading now. The word “sin,” I’ve come to understand, is just that offensive. For the few still with me, have you ever thought about the why behind Eve’s first bite? Why did the apple have such appeal to the eye? Why? Why? Why?
Here is the root why. Do not miss this. This could be huge. The why behind the original sin is pride. Plain, simple, and oh so offensive. You see, Adam & Eve ate the apple because they were tempted at the thought of being their own God. Their temptation has been one upped by modern man – we’ve come to believe we really are our own. Yikes…
You and I are not God. However, the more we advance, the more we progress, the more we learn, the more proud we become. Pride is the cancer of the noble mind. Nietzsche applauded the death of God back in his day. According to an ancient African saying. we westerners been wearing him on our wrist ever since we created the watch. And, with every new invention, new discovery, and new “app” we applaud ourselves and our ability to run our own lives. We are our own God’s and bristle at the thought of authority. We are proud people with a problem.
God, help me keep perspective. God, help me see my pride. God, help me understand the difference between begotten and created. God, thank you for the gifts you’ve so freely given. God, help me receive ’em and pass them along. God, help me…
BUILT TO LEAD 
Nice, Toto.
My AND to the root of the why is a failure to TRUST. The whole idea of us being like God was HIS idea in the first place. It was God’s will to make us in his image — read Genesis 1:26-27 and you get the idea of what that was about. “Let US make man in OUR image — male AND female he created them.” Talk about ONE-ness — distinct AND deeply connected. That’s God’s idea because that’s WHO God is. He invited us to be ALL-ONE and we chose to go it A-LONE.
That’s what pride does. It beLIEves alone is better.
God help me trust not only your will but also your WAY. Your way IS the highway.
At BUILT TO LEAD, like Toto wrote in the playbook over and over — there’s really not that much new. Mostly just reMINDers that what we DO flows out of what we think which flows out of what we believe, what we TRUST the most.
This is why TRUST is at the heart of performance. This is why the 8 Essentials playbook starts here…