How does Will Smith's slapping of Chris Rock at the direction of a look from Jada prove the consequence of sin from the Garden?
First, I rewatched the Red Table with guest Will Smith on Facebook that Jada hosts. To my chagrin, Jada says to Will; she cheated on him because she just wanted to "feel good; I haven't felt good in so long." Will sits and listens, nodding his head, and then says he will support her no matter what. Subsequently, Will begins announcing that he and Jada now have an open marriage. Maybe I missed it, but I have not heard any news about Will sleeping with other women, only Jada sleeping with another man. To save face, Will changes the dynamics of his marriage, which is broken, to open. He permits his wife to find her happiness in other men. He chooses not to conclude that she has broken the covenant and will probably do it again. Especially if she believes happiness is the goal of marriage. He allows her to continue to demean him by cheating if that's where she finds that "feeling good." This entire situation stems back to sin entering the world through Adam and Eve and the consequences God lays out. A position each of us is responsible for. I am not letting anyone off the hook, I am bringing awareness to what sin has the power to destroy.
In Genesis, God placed man and woman in a beautiful garden where everything was at their disposal. God offers a way to prove their love. One test was provided to them. In chapter 2 God forbids man to eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." He then creates a woman from the rib of man. This one rule would have been communicated to her by her husband. We don't think about it, but I see this as the first dynamic of roles in the marriage relationship. Unfortunately, once we arrive at Genesis 3 they are tested. Will they choose God or their own way? "There [was] a way that [seemed] right to [them] and in the end it [was] death" Proverbs 14:12. They chose death, their own way.
God lays out the consequences. I want to focus on the consequence put forth to Eve, which we see played out today over and over but more specifically in the Will and Jada dynamic. Genesis 3:16 “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Let's look at the second part, "Your desire will be for your husband..." Desire here is the same when we read it in Genesis 4 when God warns Cain about his anger in his offering being rejected. "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it." In other words, you or sin will be in charge. Romans 8 can put this in perspective. Desire here means to long for, stretch out toward, and yearn for. It is a strong intention or aim. There is an aim to dominate or take over.
It has a mercurial effect on marriage due to Adam and Eve's choice to want their way and not God's. The roles in the marriage relationship have become a battle. Today, Jada's role in her and Will's relationship reveals the brokenness sin has brought into marriage. Theirs is not new, and it's just one of many where public figures normalize what God hates. God blesses marriage. It is used as a metaphor for the God-head/Christ&Church in the Bible over and again. Here are examples, Romans 7:4, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Revelation 21:2, 22:17, and Ephesians 5:25-33. In America, women and beta men have done everything to emasculate men and sadly it is condoned in every venue of life. This consequence hurts even Christian marriages, but should be recognized for what it is, SIN!
The Will Smith syndrome is not exclusive to him and Jada. Sadly, men have allowed their wives or women to "rule the world" and their homes. We celebrate this pernicious act by letting our daughters wear "Girls can do it all" and "Girls, rule the world" shirts with pride. Men abdicate their roles as leaders by working many hours and leaving the care of everything at home and the children to their wives. Men forgo the responsibility of guiding their families and even their own lives to the dictates of their wives. All of this has become acceptable. Acceptable, yes, but not without its consequences. Marriage has become a disdained institution. Few people want to be married. Also, marriage has been bastardized by our Government. The cost to all of this is that men and women have become exhausted in roles that sin affords us without realizing God wants more from marriage. He created this vital relationship. It can be better, even on earth, before He returns.
God will not bless roles lived out in opposition to His Will. Married people struggling for happiness will find it eludes them, even if they capitulate like Will to "open marriage." When we live the Will and Jada way we choose to live outside God's order of things. That will never bring us happiness. It just makes us want to slap someone.
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