Others Suffer

When people, unsaved or Christian, sin; others suffer. Sin always hurts the sinner and others around them. Those that say, “My sin only hurts me,” are not telling the truth.

Here are some biblical instances where others were hurt by another’s sin:

• All of us! We are suffering from the original sin of Adam and Eve! It was through their actions that sin entered the human race.
• Because of Pharaoh’s refusal to obey God’s commandment to let the people of Israel worship Him, Pharaoh, and his people suffered the consequences of ten plagues.
• Because of the sin of Sodom, Gomorrah, and other cities, many were killed, including children.
• Because of Jonah’s disobedience to God, the sailors on his ship lost their belongings, as did those that were having their wares shipped on that vessel. The owner of the vessel suffered and had to pay for the damages to his ship.
• Because David lusted after another man’s wife, her husband ended up dead, and the baby born through King David’s sinful relationship, died.
• Because of the sin of some of Israel when they fled to the wilderness; many died before they reached the promised land; all had to wander through the wilderness for 40 years when it would have only taken them about a week; many died from snakebite, and many others suffered much.
• Because of Judas Iscariot’s and our sin, Jesus died!
• All throughout the Bible there are many other examples where the innocent suffered because of others’ sins.

Today is no different than biblical days. Many suffer today because of sins committed by others. Here are a few examples:

• When a cheater cheats on a test, the class suffers when the teacher discovers the dishonesty. He realizes he has to be more careful and less trusting of the class.
• When a student becomes a behavior problem in class, the teacher has to lay down more rules, which affect everyone.
• When a liar lies, others make wrong decisions and wrong actions based on the falsehood they heard.
• When a gossiper spreads their false accusations against a person, the gossipee suffers and is thought badly about by others or has their testimony questioned.
• When a jealous person is envious of what another has and steals it, the owner of the property suffers.
• When a person commits sexual sin and gets an abortion because of the outcome of the sin, the unborn baby suffers by being killed.
• When a parent commits adultery, the spouse and involved children suffer.
• When a drunk drinks, the person they hit and kill in an accident suffers, along with the victim’s family.
• When a religion teaches doctrine other than what the Bible teaches, they and others around them may go to Hell because of the false teachings and will not know how to obey God.
• When a person gets mad and loses his temper, others physically suffer.
• When a person steals, others pay higher prices for the products to compensate the storeowner for his losses.
• When a person is too lazy to work, and takes support from the government, others pay higher taxes.
• When a person does what he wants and is not concerned about how his actions affect others, additional laws have to be instituted, and others loose freedom.
• When a Christian does not obey God’s commandments, other non-Christians follow their sinful example; such as, “If that Christian does not go to church, why should I?”
• Nations have been destroyed because of national tolerance of sin.

Sin affects everyone!