The tree of the knowledge of good and evil inspires awe. What makes it special is the divine prohibition against its fruit: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Genesis 2:16–17). Alone among the trees of the first orchard, it presents humans with an option: either they can refuse its fruit, or they can eat its fruit. By refusing, they obey God. By eating, they disobey.

What is the most beautiful tree in creation? From the beginning, one tree stood out. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Surprisingly, few people gravitate to this tree. Rather, they view it as an unwelcome interloper in an otherwise pristine garden of Eden, a sinister weed with the power to rain doom on humanity. “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die,” declares the Lord God (Genesis 2:17).

And yet, on closer inspection, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil inspires awe. What makes it special is the divine prohibition against its fruit: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Genesis 2:16–17). Alone among the trees of the first orchard, it presents humans with an option: either they can refuse its fruit, or they can eat its fruit. By refusing, they obey God. By eating, they disobey.

An Invitation to Satisfaction

However, there is more to the tree than merely obeying or disobeying. At a deeper level, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil provides an opportunity to express delight with God and the life he gives. By standing over against the other trees of the garden, it presents an alternative path to “satisfaction.” By refusing its fruit, humans can affirm their entire satisfaction with God. For them, God is enough. In him, they discover fullness of life.

But the affirmation was fleeting. Adam and Eve did not celebrate their life in God with full-throated praise. Instead, they sought satisfaction in the forbidden tree. “When the woman saw that the tree [of the knowledge of good and evil] was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).

It was a catastrophic bite, dooming the first humans, as well as their progeny, as well as every one of us. All that ails humanity can be traced to that simple crunch.

The Torment of Unrequited Desire

Why did Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit? The answer can be summed up in one word: desire. “Desire,” claims the Dutch philosopher Spinoza, “is the very essence of a man.” To know what a person desires is to know who a person is. We are nothing more or less than the aggregate of our desires.

Desires can be vexing. Rarely are they satisfied. Take, for instance, the desire for money. Startup founder Markus Person, who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion and bought a $70 million mansion, complained, “I’ve never felt more isolated.”

Or consider the desire for power, prestige, or popularity. Jerry West is a member of the National Basketball Association Hall of Fame, winner of NBA championships both as a player and as a general manager, and the person whose silhouette adorns the logo of his sport. Despite his many successes, West admits to melancholy. “As far as I am concerned, I haven’t done anything. . . . Even though I sometimes feel, ‘My goodness, you’re among the upper echelon,’ there is still a huge void there. A huge void.”

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