Digging Deeper In Sin
The other day I was listening to my daughter’s bible class and they were teaching about how one man’s sin affected an entire nation.
She was inspired to write the following:
Digging Deeper In Sin
by guest writer – Melanie Campbell
Are you digging deeper in sin? Even if your family and friends don’t know; there is one who does. God sees everything that happens in your life. God sees the things you watch, things you listen to, things you say, things you see, and things you do. Are they pleasing to him? Are the things you do, right to God?
In Joshua 7, Achan sinned; Achan knowingly took some of the spoils of Jericho which was a direct disobedience to God’s command. In doing this Achan kept it a secret thinking that no one saw him do it; it was fine right? No, it wasn’t. God saw him do it. Joshua had no idea and was ready to take the next part of the land. Because of Achan’s sin the Israelites lost.
If you hide your sin you only dig deeper in to it. You may think that no one sees your sin, but God always sees everything and everyone.
So, ask God to help you… help you live better for Him.
I believe God’s purpose in all this was to keep the people’s faith and religion uncontaminated.
Achan underestimated God and didn’t take his commands seriously. Taking a robe, along with some silver and gold, may have seemed a small thing to Achan, but the effects of his sin were felt by the entire nation, especially his family. Because Achan had disobeyed God’s command to destroy everything in Jericho, everything that belonged to Achan had to be destroyed.
Like Achan, our actions affect more people than just ourselves. Beware of the temptation to rationalize your sins by saying they are too small or too personal to hurt anyone but you. In our permissive and individualistic culture, we have a hard time understanding why Achan and his family were destroyed, but in ancient cultures this punishment was common. Sin has drastic consequences, so we should take drastic measures to avoid it.
God also wants us to be pure. He wants us to clean up our behavior when we begin a new life with him. We must not let the desire for personal gain distract us from our spiritual purpose. We must also reject any objects that are reminders of a life of rebellion against God. You will experience blessings when you turn from your sin and follow God’s plan wholeheartedly.
