Here is the second chunk of the book I once thought to write, continued from the last blog entry:
Adam’s purpose
When God created man in his own image, He also stated His reasons for doing so. Genesis 1:26 says “… and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
So when Adam was created, his position was over the fish, birds, cattle, and creepy things, and under God. In this sense, Adam was middle management. He had a boss that he reported to, and he had underlings that he was supposed to boss around.
The reason that Adam would use tools is that Adam was expected to get some work done - he was to dress and keep the Garden of Eden. I suspect that his tools were not all the physical accoutrements of gardening - rakes, hoes, and shovels - because he was to have dominion, which means he was the boss.
My observation of corporate America leads me to believe that talking counts as ‘work’. I have never been a manager, but I have seen management gather and process information, make decisions, and provide direction. Because a manager has dominion over a group of people, speaking certain words causes those people to take action and accomplish things. Move these over here, write that letter, create this software, reduce costs - these are all things that managers direct, and things get accomplished. To a manager, wielding this power must seem like magic. Speak, and see results.
Help wanted
That was Adam’s position, between God and everything else. Well, the local branch of everything else, at least - the universe is a big place. Adam was both a master and a servant by turns, dressing and keeping the garden and providing God with periodic status reports in the cool of the day.
Like many middle managers, Adam was feeling a little resource-constrained. Clearly, being the boss over every living creature and the dirt beneath them was a lot of work, so he met with God and discussed adding a head-count. With God’s approval, he placed an ad in the “Employment” section of the local paper.
The ad must have run for several days with no response, because there was “not found an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:20). Well, what happens when middle management cannot complete an assigned task? Upper management takes over. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and performed a little surgery. From the removed rib, God created Eve. Say what you will about a copy of a copy not being as sharp as the original, I still see some definite improvements in Human, version 2.0.
So, what was Eve’s position? Was she, as some would suggest, lower on the org chart? Or was did she report directly to God? Her job description was identical to Adam’s job description. When God gave them direction, he gave it to both of them. I’m going to suggest that Eve was at the same level on the organization chart, but with a dotted line to Adam.
Paul later would write that the man is the head of the woman, and the head of man is Christ. This reasoning follows the dotted lines, rather than the solid lines. When Eve talked to God, she wasn’t going over Adam’s head; she was talking with her boss. The dotted line on an org chart suggests direction, not responsibility. Eve reported directly to God, although since Adam was responsible to God for the garden, he would share with her what needed to be done, and together, they would do it.
Responsibility is one of those chain-of-command things. When Eve ate from the wrong tree, her boss was responsible for her actions. Adam, being only a dotted line, was not held accountable. However, since he participated in the same activity, both were punished. Ultimately, God Himself would have to wrap Himself in flesh and take the punishment for fallen humanity. This is the ultimate example of assuming responsibility.
Adam’s purpose
When God created man in his own image, He also stated His reasons for doing so. Genesis 1:26 says “… and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
So when Adam was created, his position was over the fish, birds, cattle, and creepy things, and under God. In this sense, Adam was middle management. He had a boss that he reported to, and he had underlings that he was supposed to boss around.
The reason that Adam would use tools is that Adam was expected to get some work done - he was to dress and keep the Garden of Eden. I suspect that his tools were not all the physical accoutrements of gardening - rakes, hoes, and shovels - because he was to have dominion, which means he was the boss.
My observation of corporate America leads me to believe that talking counts as ‘work’. I have never been a manager, but I have seen management gather and process information, make decisions, and provide direction. Because a manager has dominion over a group of people, speaking certain words causes those people to take action and accomplish things. Move these over here, write that letter, create this software, reduce costs - these are all things that managers direct, and things get accomplished. To a manager, wielding this power must seem like magic. Speak, and see results.
Help wanted
That was Adam’s position, between God and everything else. Well, the local branch of everything else, at least - the universe is a big place. Adam was both a master and a servant by turns, dressing and keeping the garden and providing God with periodic status reports in the cool of the day.
Like many middle managers, Adam was feeling a little resource-constrained. Clearly, being the boss over every living creature and the dirt beneath them was a lot of work, so he met with God and discussed adding a head-count. With God’s approval, he placed an ad in the “Employment” section of the local paper.
The ad must have run for several days with no response, because there was “not found an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:20). Well, what happens when middle management cannot complete an assigned task? Upper management takes over. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and performed a little surgery. From the removed rib, God created Eve. Say what you will about a copy of a copy not being as sharp as the original, I still see some definite improvements in Human, version 2.0.
So, what was Eve’s position? Was she, as some would suggest, lower on the org chart? Or was did she report directly to God? Her job description was identical to Adam’s job description. When God gave them direction, he gave it to both of them. I’m going to suggest that Eve was at the same level on the organization chart, but with a dotted line to Adam.
Paul later would write that the man is the head of the woman, and the head of man is Christ. This reasoning follows the dotted lines, rather than the solid lines. When Eve talked to God, she wasn’t going over Adam’s head; she was talking with her boss. The dotted line on an org chart suggests direction, not responsibility. Eve reported directly to God, although since Adam was responsible to God for the garden, he would share with her what needed to be done, and together, they would do it.
Responsibility is one of those chain-of-command things. When Eve ate from the wrong tree, her boss was responsible for her actions. Adam, being only a dotted line, was not held accountable. However, since he participated in the same activity, both were punished. Ultimately, God Himself would have to wrap Himself in flesh and take the punishment for fallen humanity. This is the ultimate example of assuming responsibility.
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