Articles
What Sin Does
In Judges 16, we read of the life of Samson. Samson was a man who was one of the Judges of Israel, but he was different from the others. Samson had strength that no one could measure up to. With God’s spirit in him, no man or army could stop him until God’s spirit left. He then became a weak and defeated man. Samson made a big mistake that caused him to lose his strength. His mistake should remind us of what sin does in our lives. Let us notice three effects that sin has on our lives today.
The first thing we see is that sin blinds us. When Samson finally told Delilah the truth about his strength, she had a man shave off the seven locks of his head while he was asleep, and his strength left him. (Judges 16:19) The we see that the Philistines took him and put out his eyes. (Judges 16:21) What a terrible thing this must have been. Notice though, sin also has a blinding effect on us today. We see only the thrill of the moment, the satisfying of the flesh, but fail to see the destruction that is occurring. Our eyes are put out when it comes to seeing the physical and spiritual consequences. Have you noticed that sin, in God’s word, is often associated with darkness? Jesus said in John 3:19, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”
We then see that sin also binds us. Not only did they blind Samson, but they also bound him with bronze shackles. (Judges 16:21) He had been a free man to travel wherever he would want to go, but now his freedom was gone. His life was now under someone else’s control. Millions today do not know it, but sin still has a binding effect. We may be deceived into thinking that we can live as we please and be free. But this is not true, because sin has a way of binding our lives. Just think of those that are bound with physical pain and illness because they chose a life of sin. Some of the most binding habits known to man come from sin and its effects. Galatians 6:7-8 tells us that we will reap what we sow. Are you bound to sin?
Finally, sin has a grinding effect. Samson lost his eyesight, was bound, and he did grind in prison. (Judges 16:21) Samson was stripped of his dignity and was worked as an animal. His God-given purpose was distorted as he wasted away in prison. Sin has robbed millions of their God-given talents to fulfill their purpose in life, and to glorify God as their creator. Their lives are spent doing things that destroy instead of building for the future. These fail to lay up treasures in heaven, (Matthew 6:19-21), and will face death and eternity without God.
What effect is sin having in your life? Have you fallen and faced the effects that sin has on your life? Have you overcome these effects and turned back to God? If not, will you this day, dedicate your life to Christ. And do not let your sins blind you, bind you, or grind you.
