Thorns And Thistles

• Why does God give us commandments?

• What are some of the consequences of sin?

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Genesis 3:17-19

God does not give us commandments because he wants to hide something from us. He does not give us rules to punish us or to keep us from having fun. God’s commandments are given to protect us. Not only does sin lead to eternal separation from God, but sin always has consequences in our life on earth.

You may think it’s no big deal to cheat on that homework assignment. But then you don’t learn the material, which you might need to know later in life. And you could lose the trust of your teacher, and later you might find it difficult to have someone write you a letter of recommendation for college.

You may think it’s no big deal to drink a few beers. Everyone is doing it, and nothing bad ever happens, right? But then you do something really embarrassing at a friend’s house, or you get into a vehicle with a drunk driver who gets into an accident on the way home.

We never really get away with anything. Even when sin has no obvious consequence, it takes its toll on our hearts. There’s no such thing as sin without consequence.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for giving us your Word to protect us. Please help us to be obedient to your commandments. Amen.