Driving down Windsor Road yesterday I saw an illuminated sign which read, "Your driving affects others." That's not something which often preoccupies my mind, but it is true. Dangerous driving on my part bring increased risk to me, my passengers, pedestrians, other drivers, and property. Lives have been lost and permanently affected by poor decisions made by others on the road.
Our driving affects others, and the way we live our lives affects others too. Our everyday choices may not result in accidents which in seconds destroy life and property, but the results can be broader and further reaching. Should we embrace sin, it will have a catastrophic and destructive impact on our lives and others. Sin brings destruction not only on lives but upon eternal souls. Adam is a fitting example, but perhaps that of Micah is more compelling because it occurred after man's initial fall.
Micah lived in a time in Israel when there was no king and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Micah had stolen 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, but after she cursed the thief he admitted stealing the silver. His mother blessed him for his "honesty." She claimed she had dedicated the silver unto the LORD, and after he returned it she gave 200 shekels to the silver to make an image for his collection. Micah had a collection of gods with an ephod, and he consecrated his son to be a priest. A wandering Levite was later consecrated to take on the role of priest to the family, and Micah believed the LORD would do him good because he had a "proper" priest. Of course all Micah had done was improper, illegal according to the Law of Moses, and abominable before God but he (like everyone else at the time) did what was right in his own eyes.
Over the course of time men from the tribe of Dan went through the land. They were looking for good land with people isolated from any help or protection who would be easy prey. After they found such a place, they took 600 armed men to take the land by force. On the way they dropped by Micah's house, took his idols and his Levite "priest," and went on their way despite Micah's protests. They warned him his life and those of his house would be forfeit if he interfered with them, so Micah returned home. When the men of Dan arrived in Laish, they smote the city and burned it with fire. They rebuilt the city and called it Dan, after their father. Judges 18:30-31 explains the shocking consequences of the idolatry of Micah and his mother: "Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh."
Micah's mother made an image of silver, and Micah placed it in a shrine in his house. The tribe of Dan stole it, Jonathan and his sons become priests who used it in worship, and idolatry was entrenched in Israel for hundreds of years. How many people and families were ensnared by the worship of Micah's idol whilst the Tabernacle of God stood in Shiloh! Now I cannot say what your sin might be or what could be the ultimate impact of it, but even if one souls is ensnared and turned aside from the living God it would be too much. It is a tragedy when one life is unnecessarily lost because of poor driving, and it is horrendous for a soul to go to hell for eternity because of sin. Jesus came to this earth to seek and save sinners, to destroy the works of the devil, and provide eternal life. The situation with Micah shows the sin of one person has the capacity to affect an entire nation for evil.
The way we live affects others - for good or for evil - more than you know. It may not be something you often think about, but it is true.
Our driving affects others, and the way we live our lives affects others too. Our everyday choices may not result in accidents which in seconds destroy life and property, but the results can be broader and further reaching. Should we embrace sin, it will have a catastrophic and destructive impact on our lives and others. Sin brings destruction not only on lives but upon eternal souls. Adam is a fitting example, but perhaps that of Micah is more compelling because it occurred after man's initial fall.
Micah lived in a time in Israel when there was no king and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Micah had stolen 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, but after she cursed the thief he admitted stealing the silver. His mother blessed him for his "honesty." She claimed she had dedicated the silver unto the LORD, and after he returned it she gave 200 shekels to the silver to make an image for his collection. Micah had a collection of gods with an ephod, and he consecrated his son to be a priest. A wandering Levite was later consecrated to take on the role of priest to the family, and Micah believed the LORD would do him good because he had a "proper" priest. Of course all Micah had done was improper, illegal according to the Law of Moses, and abominable before God but he (like everyone else at the time) did what was right in his own eyes.
Over the course of time men from the tribe of Dan went through the land. They were looking for good land with people isolated from any help or protection who would be easy prey. After they found such a place, they took 600 armed men to take the land by force. On the way they dropped by Micah's house, took his idols and his Levite "priest," and went on their way despite Micah's protests. They warned him his life and those of his house would be forfeit if he interfered with them, so Micah returned home. When the men of Dan arrived in Laish, they smote the city and burned it with fire. They rebuilt the city and called it Dan, after their father. Judges 18:30-31 explains the shocking consequences of the idolatry of Micah and his mother: "Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh."
Micah's mother made an image of silver, and Micah placed it in a shrine in his house. The tribe of Dan stole it, Jonathan and his sons become priests who used it in worship, and idolatry was entrenched in Israel for hundreds of years. How many people and families were ensnared by the worship of Micah's idol whilst the Tabernacle of God stood in Shiloh! Now I cannot say what your sin might be or what could be the ultimate impact of it, but even if one souls is ensnared and turned aside from the living God it would be too much. It is a tragedy when one life is unnecessarily lost because of poor driving, and it is horrendous for a soul to go to hell for eternity because of sin. Jesus came to this earth to seek and save sinners, to destroy the works of the devil, and provide eternal life. The situation with Micah shows the sin of one person has the capacity to affect an entire nation for evil.
The way we live affects others - for good or for evil - more than you know. It may not be something you often think about, but it is true.
No comments:
Post a Comment
To uphold the integrity of this site, no comments with links for advertising will be posted. No ads here! :)