It is not uncommon to hear, or to think, “God will forgive me. All I need to do is confess it and it will be done.” But that fails to take into consideration the mess sin leaves behind and the incredibly destructive nature of sin. In Genesis 3, one bite of the forbidden fruit and the world became broken and messy. Sin is always messy. We might be tempted to think that a particular sin won’t hurt anyone, but the mess always spills over into the laps of others. When Ezra called the men of Israel together because of their sin, he called every man in Israel to come. They all sat in the rain and trembled because of the rain and because of their sin. Not every man in Israel had taken a foreign wife, but it affected them all. Dealing with sin and its mess takes surgery, not a Band-Aid. We can’t just say, “Oops. Sorry, my bad” and move on as though nothing happened. Sin often leaves us with no easy answers, and it is astonishingly infectious. 1 mg of ricin ingested or inhaled is fatal. Sin is just as deadly, and the mess it leaves behind is not easy to clean up.
So what do we do with this? First, don’t sin. As believers in Jesus Christ we have the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers us to holiness. Second, keep short records. When God reveals or convicts of sin in our lives, own up to it immediately and begin steps to correct it. Third, be patient and prayerful for those who have been caught up in sin for generations. There are often no easy answers. A quick, black and white fix often doesn’t work. Be patient and prayerful. Fourth, pray for one another. Jesus said to his disciples, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41). So pray. It doesn’t much bacteria to make a batch of stew inedible. It doesn’t take much sin to undo a lot of good in a community. Pray.
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