Personal Sin (Written by my wife Sara Breedlove)

If I decide to speed to church because I am running late, that decision only effects me, unless of course I wreck and injure someone riding in the car with me, or in another car. If I decide to lie in order to benefit myself or get out of trouble, that decision only effects me, unless of course someone else gets blamed or punished because of something I did. I could go on and on with more examples of “personal” sins that will only affect me, however the reality is I may never know the effect my sins will have on other people. Even if I don’t wreck the car and physically leave a mark on someone, I am speeding by people who may know I am a professed Christian, and if I am on the way to church then I know my children are in the car, as well as the teenager we pick up and give a ride to, all of whom are witnessing me disregard the law. What kind of Spiritual mark am I leaving on them? It is just like when David chose to sin with Bathsheba and lay with her. She became pregnant and that one sin affected not only him and her but also David's entire family. Read what Nathan the prophet said to David when the Lord exposed his sin.

Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die." 2 Samuel 12:9-14 At no point in any of this does God say go ahead act anyway you desire because our actions are ours and ours alone, on the contrary, He gives specific instruction throughout the whole Bible on how we are to act, because someone,( in addition to ourselves), is always effected by our sin.

My relationship with my dad is daily affected by choices he made. Our relationship consists of letter writing, as that is our only form of communication. I can not see him, as the miles between us prevent that, nor can we talk, as the costs of collect calls are too much for me to pay. Thus we write. Our relationship is unconventional at this point, and has caused me a great deal of sadness. Despite the fact that his sins were not against me, I am still directly affected by them.

In conclusion let me say this, Jerry and I tell the kids that just because we don’t see their every sin, doesn’t mean God doesn’t see it, but let me also add this; just because you are not sinning against someone personally, doesn’t mean someone is not effected by your sin.