"No Pain! No Gain!"

What Makes You Sore?

I'm sure we have all heard this popular phrase either in the gym, on television or even at work when there's allot of work to do. It is so interesting that we sometimes think of this as a motivational way of thinking in order to push ourselves a little harder with hopes of gaining the goals that will one day being us happiness and security.

I want to talk about this phrase and how it originated for a moment. The first time I remember hearing this motivating statement was in the weight room at school. I would be pushing as hard as I could and when the weight would become unbearable, I'd grit my teeth and push just a little harder to finish the set. Usually someone would offer a bit of encouragement, "No pain! No gain!" as they walked by me while I sat sweating on the bench with my heart pounding out of my chest.
As I grew older I had begun to dislike this phrase, because it would be used by associates when we had to spend long days working and pushing others to do their jobs in order to get the project finished on time. In some ways though it would bring us to a realization that truly, "We wouldn't make any gain without experiencing some kind of pain". Whether it be the pain of separation from our children for many hours each day; the pain of constant physical exertion for eight to twelve hours a day at work; the pain of physical injuries suffered on the job (big or small they still hurt), the pain of injuries sustained in sporting events, the pain of exposure to the elements whether hot, cold, extreme light or darkness; even in the experience of childbirth. There seems to be some kind of pain involved in almost every aspect of our lives. It is a huge part of what makes up life! Maybe we should stop and understand why and then we can deal with the constant presence of pain around and in us.

Let's look at the originator of all of this pain and who actually convinced us all that we are not going to gain without the experience of pain.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

In this passage the serpent is possessed by the power of satan when it tempts the woman to take of the fruit of the tree that they had been told not to take of. The knowledge that the woman gained from this tree was the knowledge of the things that our world pivots around even today! Right and wrong; pleasure and pain; life and death were the things that God had spared the first man and woman from in order that they might have total peace without the pain that comes with knowledge. God knew this pain already because he is God and God knows all things, always has and always will.

Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

They no longer had their innocence! The innocence of a child before they experience the evil that we have in our world today. They had experience three things, the tree that looked good to eat (lust of the flesh), the tree that looked like a tree above all others to gain knowledge from as the serpent had told her (lust of the eyes) and then man wanted it too so that he could be knowledgeable like the woman (pride of life). These three things are the power of satan even in the world today. You might be wondering what in the world this has to do with pain. Let me show you as we read more from this passage.

Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
From this time forth every man would have to plant seed and work to eat and provide for his family and his wife would look to him for the provision rather than God because he was made to suffer pain. The woman was also cursed to suffer pain conception and bearing children. The things that the first man and woman had to begin with were soiled by the choice of deception, lust and pride. Little did they know how they would change history.
But God is a loving God and still cared for us as His creation as we see that He cared for Adam and Eve with the first cloak.
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

God still cares for us and the woman's seed was bruised by satan when Jesus came by the virgin Mary to give his life because of the knowledge of evil and the curse man was bound under. We still must experience pain as long as we live on this earth and must return to the earth one day but we have the joy of knowing the our Savior has covered us with a cloak as well! He didn't cover us with the skin of a beast this time as He did for Adam and Eve but rather with a white raiment that is made of forgiveness and love.