Sin always carries a price. Don’t we try to teach our children this? I suffer consequences due to the sin I commit. God is never mocked and we can never put one over on Him. Every sin has a consequence- from a guilty conscience, to a pregnancy to an unmarried couple, or a STD as a result of sexual sin. The consequences can go all the way to being on death row in prison due to murdering someone in a moment of rage.
King David suffered because of his sin. He is an excellent example for you to look at.
In addition, Reading about Israel is a reminder that even when we suffer because of our sin, God is gracious and merciful.
But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; And often He restrained His anger And did not arouse all His wrath. Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passes and does not return. Psalm 78:38-39 (NASB)
We sin because our heart is set on satisfying and worshiping “self.” All sin is a worship disorder.It is a theological problem.
The reason we sin in its simplest form is because we all tend to be idolaters and worship at the altar of “ME”. "I must be happy, I must have this or be that." It is all about “ME” at the heart level- in the immaterial me. This produces some obvious responses in the material me because my heart is set on my thoughts, my beliefs, and my desires instead of God’s- and what I seek is to have my own perceived needs met and to have what I want when I want it.
This brings problems into my life.
I suffer because of decisions I have made trying to satisfy the idolatrous longings of my own heart. Pleasure, respect, love, power, control, and freedom from pain are some of the things we long for. It is living this way that leads me to sin and cause myself much grief, sorrow and suffering.
We certainly suffer because of sin other people commit too. The sin of our spouses affects us as it damages our relationships, and trust, and confidence in them.
The sin of our children affects us, and the sins of children seem to becoming more complex, don’t they?
Even strangers sin against us! You get robbed, your car gets keyed, your identity is stolen, the list goes on and on of ways we are sinned against, and suffer at the hands of other people.
All humanity suffers due to the sin of one man- Adam. Because of his sin, we all suffer the effects of illness and physical deterioration that leads to our physical death.
So, what ever the sinful path is that brought us to suffering we will all be there at some point in this life. However even in our suffering for sin, God is merciful and gracious. The fact that our lives on this earth end one day is evidence of His mercy and grace. Can you imagine having to live in this sin cursed world for ever and ever?
God’s handling of us after we sin is instructive and intentional. His intention is that we grow and change as a result of the consequences we bear, and He and intends that we learn from them. God is even working in the consequences of our sin... what an amazing God we serve!