Genesis 39:9

“There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”

     One time a close friend and I were planning a vacation. We were both very excited about it. We had planned it, anticipating all the fun things we would do. However, the plans never came to fruition. We had a falling out and the trip was canceled. Even when things were later patched up, we never could get that trip back. We may go on other trips, but that trip was a wasted opportunity. This taught me a valuable life lesson: even if relationships are renewed, sin has consequences.

     Many times we sin against our brethern. We hope and desire that forgiveness will be granted even after we mess up. Yet the forgiveness offered never takes away the events of what happened. Take David for example. He was truly penitent for sleeping with Bathsheba and murdering her husband. Did this return Bathsheba’s husband to her? No. Think back in your own life. Have their been times were a situation was resolved with a less than satisfactory solution because of people’s sin? They may have forgiven each other, but the time wasted in sin caused the perfect solution to become untenable.

    The same thing can happen with God. When we sin against God, we know He will forgive us. Yet every sin separates us from God a little more. It hurts are progression and growth as Christians. We can not earn back that time spent in sin. We can not gain back the influence we might have lost because we were mired in our sinful path. This should motivate us be more righteous in our behavior toward God and others. We may not be able to gain any wasted time back, but we can resolve to lose as little time to sin in the future as possible.

“There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”