"Shun evil and do good", that is to say, fight the enemy in order to diminish the passions, and then be vigilant lest they increase once more. Again, fight to acquire the virtues and then be vigilant in order to keep them. This is the meaning of "cultivate" and "keeping." (Maximos the Confessor)

In the second chapter of Genesis, verse 15, we read, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." Here cultivate and keep are the same Hebrew word: 'abad

Despite Maximos, 'abad means to work, to labor, and eventually it implied to serve. It is to nourish and draw-forth the potential good that is present. There is no suggestion of fighting.

The farmer does not so much fight drought as he digs wells and builds irrigation ditches. Fighting is focused on what is wrong. 'Abad is focused on amplifying the potential that exists.

I can be my own worst enemy. There are habits and attitudes that have earned a sustained fight. But more effective may be time and effort given to cultivating faith, hope, and love.

In fighting the one restriction God placed on paradise, Eden was lost. Surely it would have been better to cultivate and keep all the rest that was freely given.