When the world was created, the only two human beings, Adam and Eve, were just that: Beings.

They were molded by God Himself to perfection. They ran around naked, uninhibited, unaware of what they lacked. In Eden, just their existence together was enough. But, even with their spark of the divine, they were still human and imperfect. They were still plagued by a gnawing sense of insatiability. That though they lived in a perfect world, something was missing and they had to have it.

Then they would feel whole.

So, they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, the one thing they were denied, and changed the world forever.

Man’s punishment fit the crime. For the part he played and their joint failure to be content in an immaculate world, for constantly seeking more and more, they were exiled to a world where only “with toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life…with the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” Now there would be work to attain happiness and sustenance. No more could man just be, now he had to do. This punishment still lingers.

People aren’t loved today simply for who they are, but for what they do. Society tells us that what we do is what matters- our job, paycheck, status, accomplishments. You need more and more and in order to get it you must perform.

The only place safe from that is a marriage. A place where a person chooses another because of their being, because it’s who they are that sets them apart from everyone else and why you choose to be with them. But often we lose sight of this. People forget their spouse’s intrinsic value and replace it with what they do.

The punishment was directed at the first man, but still pervades our minds today. Often we look at our spouses and love them, sometimes more, sometimes less based on their doings, which is natural in a relationship. A spouse must be helpful, considerate, and do things to nurture and nourish the relationship. But factor out the job they have, the money they bring, the food they cook, the chores they complete, the errands they run- the things they do. Though important in a relationship- this is not who someone is.

Those are things that the world sees, values and ranks. But within a marriage, the outside is forced out to reveal the inside. A person’s mind, soul and spirit is exposed, recognized and loved. A persons unique inner light as well as the darker parts too.

After their curses, Adam and Eve were banished from a world of being to a world of doing.

It is in a couple’s power to rectify their sin of looking outward by seeing and appreciating their spouses as enough just as they are, without constantly doing and performing. Which is what God initially intended.

Just two people, building their own Eden.