Romans 5:14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
Sin. We have no idea the true havoc that wreaks when sin enters in. We see it as a personal issue that we try to avoid - like overeating or going in the sun without sunscreen. But it isn't just a personal issue - it's a global problem that many ignore.
We all know what happened when Eve decided to sin - it didn't just affect her, it affected Adam as well. It didn't just affect Adam, it affected the rest of humanity. However, let's be realistic, if it wasn't Eve, it certainly would have been someone - we are drawn to sin naturally - so someone had to take the first bite.
That doesn't make it right to continue to let sin run a muck. We generally think that if we sin, we're only hurting ourselves - this couldn't be further from the truth. The wife that cheats on her husband doesn't just hurt herself. The husband is hurt, the person who she cheated on is hurt. The children of the marriage are hurt. The grandparents are hurt. The dynamic of the entire family is changed.
The mother who beats her children is not just affecting herself. The father is affected by this sin. The children, obviously, are affected. The walls that are built up and the anger that naturally results can get transferred onto their future spouses and even their children.
There is no wonder why each generation continues to suffer as each sin from the previous generation continues on and on. So how do we stop this world-wide epidemic? Kill all the cheating wives and abusive mothers? No, as seemingly simple as that might sound - one sin on another just continues the epidemic. The answer lies in God's Word - as it always does: John 8:11 talks of Jesus' answer to the adulterer - "Go and sin no more". Seems simple enough, doesn't it? If every one person would recognize sin and make the effort to avoid it, we might find some time to heal and move on. It has to start with us. If we make that decision to fight temptation, step away from sin, the result will always be good - because it's what Christ calls us to do.
