Sin Has Consequences

On May 14, 1988, Larry Mahoney made a poor decision.

Mahoney drank too much alcohol and then decided to get behind the wheel of his pick-up truck.  In his inebriated state, Mahoney drove north on the southbound lane of Interstate 71, eventually colliding head-on with a church bus returning from a youth outing at the King's Island amusement park.

As a result of the crash, the bus burst into flames. Cut off from the exits, 27 people lost their lives and an additional 34 others were injured.  Only six people came away from the crash uninjured.  With injuries and fatalities combined, it is considered the worst bus crash in the history of the United States.

Mahoney was convicted of 27 counts of manslaughter and served almost 11 years in jail.

Sin has consequences. As a consequence of Mahoney's poor decision to drink and drive, he caused a fatal accident, injured himself and served a decade of prison time.  Not only that, but he must live with the result of his poor decision for the rest of his life.

Sin also has collateral damage.  The 27 people on that bus did not do anything worthy of dying.  They didn't sin in being on that bus or on that interstate or on that trip.  They did not participate in Mahoney's sin.  Yet, they suffered the consequences of his sin.

They weren't the only ones.  The church sponsoring the trip experienced consequences of his sin.  The family faced the consequences of his sin.  Even the rescue workers and the town of Carrollton, Ky., endured pain from his sins.

One man's sin had far-reaching consequences and collateral damage.  Sin always does.

The same was true of Jonah.  He sinned in disobeying the command of the Lord.  His disobedience put the lives of the sailors in danger.  As we read in Jonah 1:4-16, a great storm came upon the ship, forcing the crew to toss cargo overboard, and nearly tearing the ship apart.  Jonah's sin put the sailors in peril and cost them their precious cargo.

When we sin, we're not just hurting ourselves and bringing on our own judgment.  When we sin, we inflict pain on others as they deal with the results of our sin and punishment.  Sin has consequences but it also has collateral damage.

That's why sin is so serious.  It's harms us and others.

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