The World Wide Epidemic - It's Affecting You!

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.

Samson - It's Not You, It's Me.

Judges 15:16-18 Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men."When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi. Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

I have a hard time empathizing with anyone who makes the statement, "I'm mad at God". Not that I don't sympathize with what they might be going through - whether a loved one has died or a serious illness has come over them - but to say they're mad at God seems a little bit . . . silly. The attitude that Samson has in these verses is the same as that person. God has given Samson victory over so many of the Philistines and now he has the nerve to tell God that He's not taking care of his physical need for water.

Who do we think we are? Beyond the fact the God has made it clear how much He loves each and every one of us, the promise that He will always provide for us and sent His only son to die so we don't have to spend an eternity without Him - how dare we ever think that God does not have our best interests at heart - let alone 'be mad at Him'. God is more than well aware of the tragedies that we face in our every day lives. The child who's health won't get better, the job we just got laid off of - but this is not His fault. In fact, it's OUR fault. God made it very clear what sin would cause - yet we spend our lives waving sin aside as if it was unimportant to pay any attention to it. The little white lie, the small rumor behind the desk, the small tweak on the income tax - all sin - all punishable.

Ellen DeGeneres made a comment that the church should have better things to do than fight the marriage amendment in California - like feed the hungry. Fighting sin is just one of the many things that Christians need to do. Homosexuality - whether Ellen likes it or not - is sin - and just like all the other sins, it should not be tolerated. God loves all of us and doesn't want ANY sin to be committed. Since none of us are perfect, we know this is a struggle - but we need to remember that this is not what God intended for us. Jesus came down and died on a cross because we can't stop this sinning - it's time He gets credit - instead of blame.