Phronimos (prudent) connotes wisdom with a hint of shrewdness or cunning. To subscribe to this podcast please go to iTunes and subscribe to “The Koine Greek Word of the Day Podcast”.

The man and the woman were given responsibilities and boundaries by God. God expected them to fulfill their responsibilities (be a good steward of the garden) and obey the boundaries (not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However the man and the woman disobeyed God. When God confronted them about their disobedience they did the two things my children do when I catch them disobeying; they lie and they try to shift the blame onto someone else. God sees through their lies and their blame tactics and disciplines the man and the woman. Then they are removed from the garden (from dwelling within the providence of God). However, outside of the garden, God still cares for them and provides them clothes.

When we wander into disobedience we miss out on some of the blessing God wants for us. When we become selfish and put our own desires before the desires of God, we are separated from the best that God would have for us. God will still provide for us, but we keep ourselves from accepting the best blessings of God and instead receive second rate blessings. There is no benefit in blaming others for our failings; we need to accept responsibility for our disobedience and learn to follow God.