DAILY BIBLE DEVOTION

 

SIN'S PUNISHMENT

People often blame God when bad

things happen and feel it's God's

punishment for sin But this

passage from Genesis lets us know

that sometimes sin brings its own

punishment. We all know the story

of Joseph and his coat of many

colors that his brothers were so

envious of since they were jealous

of their father's preference for

Joseph. We know how they sold

their brother and told their father

he was dead and how Joseph

wound up in Egypt. Now the

brothers are in Egypt seeking food

because there was a famine in

Canaan where they were living.

Joseph recognizes them, but they

don't have a clue. Now, they feel

the guilt of having sold their

brother and know that they

deserve whatever happens to

them. Sin has effects. People who

lie aren't trusted. People who steal,

find it hard to get a job. People

who flaunt authority, who feel the

rules don't apply to them, run into

problems and often find

themselves in jail. Many of these

people will ask, "Why me? Why is

God doing this to me?" The answer

is obvious to others. God isn't

doing anything to them, they have

done it to themselves. The easy

answer to avoiding these problems

is just don't sin, but we know that

that isn't always possible. What we

can do is to take responsibility for

our behavior, recognize our sins,

ask for forgiveness and ask for help

to avoid sin in the future.

PRAYER

Forgiving Lord, you don't need to

punish us as we seem to do a good

job of doing that ourselves. Help us

to recognize our sins and ask you

for forgiveness as well as the

strength to avoid the situations

that lead us to sin. Amen.