Joshua 7:  Sin Affects Others

God sent the Israelites to take over Jericho and they were successful …yet one man disregarded God’s explicit orders: take nothing from this city. Achan saw, he coveted and he stole. In the end all that he had coveted was his demise as well as his family. Nothing is hidden from the eyes of the Lord. Achan’s sin became the end of his family for God declared him unclean as well as his family and his belongings. We fail to realize that our sin affects others. 

I well remember the man in our church that did an Achan sin. He confessed as did Achan, but the lot was cast for his demise. He was removed from the church, his family faced the shame of the community.

The lesson I learned is that although, like Achan, you can confess your sin, others are affected and the shame is passed on to them.  It is like when we add yeast to bread. The yeast multiplies the dough but yeast in the church multiplies your sin and the church is affected.