Your unfaithfulness affect other people

14/12/13

S: 1 Chronicles 10:1-3, 6, 13-14 Now the Philistines fought against Israel. The Israelites fled before the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. The battle was thick around Saul; the archers spotted him and wounded him. ... So Saul and his three sons died; his whole household died together ... So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord’s instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits. He did not seek the Lord’s guidance, so the Lord killed him and transferred the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

O: From what we know, Jonathan, and presumably Abinadab and Malki-Shua, did not abandon the Lord -- only Saul did. But they all died as a result of Saul's sins. They probably went to heaven; it's unclear about Saul's eternal destiny.

Our sins can affect the people around us. Although God doesn't hold it against the children, a bad father's sins can affect their children negatively via their consequences. Saul's unfaithfulness ended up physically harming his children, though because his children remained faithful, their eternal destinies were still intact.

A: Two weeks ago, we saw how God was still willing to forgive Manasseh in spite of his horrible sins. Last week, we saw how in spite of Manasseh's repentance, the consequences of his sins remained. This week, we see how Saul's sins affected his children.

It's a dangerous thing to be unfaithful. Although God will always forgive and accept you back when you repent, there are consequences not only for yourself, but also for the people you love. I need to remember this every time I'm tempted.

P: Father, help me to remember this when I'm tempted. May I stay faithful to You. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)