Familiarity breeds contempt. We've all heard that old saying. We see it play out today in the life of Jesus in our Gospel reading from Mark 6. The people most familiar with Jesus took offense with him. Perhaps you've experienced that as well.
In our first reading from 2 Samuel 24, David sins against God and takes a census. God gave David three options for punishment. None of them were good. David accepts a three-day pestilence, and seventy thousand people die. David is grief stricken and cries out to the LORD, "It is I who have sinned...punish me and my kindred."
Sin has consequences. Sometimes we think that our sins are just that - only ours. But sin never happens in a vacuum. Our sins affect others, whether we realize it or not. Others - probably the people we love the most - will suffer consequences from our sins. Would things be different if we thought about this beforehand?
Father, help us to ponder the reach of our sins, that we may turn away from sin and turn to you. Amen.
Ash Wednesday is two weeks from today. For some great Lenten spiritual reading, go to www.GusLloyd.com and order today.
As Rita would always say, “Think before you do something”. My response, “If I thought, I wouldn’t do it.” My mom’s answer, “My point, exactly!”