"It's my life, why can't I live it the way I want to?" "What does it matter if I sin? It's not as if my actions affect others." These are just a few of the excuses I have heard over the years in regard to sin. This is not a new concept. This mentality has been around as long as mankind has been committing acts of sin. Let's take a look at an example of a man by the name of Achan who had this mentality, and see what the consequences of his sin were.
Achan was an Israelite, living in the time of Joshua. After the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River, they were commanded to conquer Jericho. They were given specific instructions about how the city was to be destroyed, and were told that the treasure from the first city belonged to God. Joshua 6:18-19 says, "But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD." All of the Israelites knew what God's commands were regarding the treasure of Jericho. They had just witnessed the miraculous sacking of this great fortified city! Yet, Achan decides to go against what God had commanded and take some of the spoils of the city of Jericho. No one would miss a few trinkets from such a great city, would they (Josh. 7:21)? Who would even notice a few things missing from a whole city? Achan could have easily justified what he did in these ways. However, that does not make it any less of a sin.
After Achan steals from God, he probably never thought that others would suffer for his sin against God. Yet, that is exactly what happened when Israel attempted to take the city of Ai. Joshua 7:1 reads, "But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan...of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel." Because of Achan's sin, the anger of the Lord now burned against all the people of Israel. This caused their defeat when they attempted to take Ai (Josh. 7:2-5). Surely, Achan didn't plan to be the cause of thirty-six of his fellow countrymen losing their lives. Ai was a far lesser city compared to the fortified city Jericho. By man's standards, the destruction of Ai should have been simple. Yet, because of one man's sin, the Lord was not with the children of Israel when they went into battle. The sin of Achan affected far more people than he would have imagined. However, it didn't stop there. Achan's sin also affected his family (Josh. 7:23-25). Achan's sin caused the death of his sons, daughters, wife, and livestock. The children of Israel didn't even spare his belongings. After Achan and his family were killed, they burned it all.
When we commit sin, we tend to see the consequences as minimal. Sometimes we think that "if" we do get caught, we can handle the consequences. Would we stop and reconsider our sin if we knew that we could cause harm to those closest to us? Do you realize that you hurt your family, friends, and brethren when you sin as Achan did? Perhaps your sinful actions help to lure others away from following God? You would be partly responsible for the lost souls who follow your example. You bring shame upon the Lord's church and tell others in the community that following God is no longer important to you. You can cause harm to your physical family because now they're missing a father, mother, son, or daughter who should be fulfilling their godly role. You bring harm and heartache to your spiritual family. You disappoint them and you hurt the efforts of the church when they are attempting to spread the gospel. Make no mistake, we all have to answer for our sins. The reality of that should cause us to turn from sin and error when we stop to ponder just how much harm we may cause those around us when we sin.
- The Old Paths, 1/22/17