Consequences
Then the Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested, but as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land……None of those who have treated me with contempt will will ever see it.” Numbers 14:20-22a, 23b
The Israelites rebelled against God and Moses and would not follow and obey. God was ready to wipe them out and start all over with just Moses and his family, but Moses asked God to pardon the people. (What a guy!) God showed mercy, but there were consequences…. serious ones.
There are always consequences for sin, always. Even God’s pardon and forgiveness don’t necessarily save us from the fallout. An entire generation (minus 3) of Israelites died in the desert, and that was God’s mercy.
Our governor, Mark Sanford, sinned by having an affair, got caught, and is paying a high price in public as well as in private. I’ve also seen people sin more under the radar, quietly, behind closed doors, in whispers. I really think there’s more hope for those like Sanford that crash and burn and suffer horrible consequences because there is less chance of them justifying their actions and evading the truth. Hidden sin just lurks in the darkness quietly and slowly causing hearts to grow cold and hard. (Yea, I speak from experience, and no, you don’t need any details.) The secret sins of disobedience, hatred, gossip, anger, sexual impurity, and pride don’t make near the splash or set off alarms in public, but they are at least as deadly. They also carry consequences. But because there’s mostly smoke and so little fire, this kind of sin is harder to recognize and really repent of.
Bottom line, I believe and pray that Mark Sanford will repent, pay the consequences for his sin, and God will still use the man. I truly fear for those that justify sinful thoughts and actions, don’t think they are doing anything wrong, never fall on their faces in repentance, and are in danger of suffering far worse consequences.
