Day 38: Sins Have a Snowball Effect

Read: Genesis 5:12-17

I visited home for a couple weeks after school finished. I crashed, exhausted from the end of the school year and used this as an excuse to not invite God into my day-to-day life. I figured that because I was exhausted, but had busy weeks ahead, that I would do it my own way. I decided there was no time to walk closely with God for those couple of weeks. I knew this was sin, but believed it was the most convenient option and reasoned that I’d be the only one affected by it. 

Expending the energy required to do life by myself only added to my exhaustion. I was not present with my family. Time and time again, I lost my patience and snapped at them. I became emotionally distant and, without intending to, hurt those closest to me in the process.

The Bible is clear that the effects of Adam’s sin did not stop with him. It did not even stop at his immediate family. Adam’s sin was carried down through all of humanity, as we know full well from sin’s effects on our own lives. While this is clear in verses such as Romans 5:14, “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” It is easy to pass over this as a general statement. 

But here in Genesis 5, we read the names of direct descendants of Adam. These men were real people with daily lives. They lived life at the beginning of time, Sin affected every part of their lives, as it does today. But in the midst of that, they didn’t have past knowledge of Jesus dying for them and forgiving them. Adam’s sin had an impact far beyond what he could have realized in the moment.

Just as Adam’s sin affected the lives of others far more than he intended, our sin does as well. No sin is isolated, even the seemingly small choices that don’t seem to have wide radiuses. But also note that just as our sin is not isolated, neither are our victories. The choices we make, both negative and positive, impact those around us.

Reflect on how your choices today have impacted the people around you, both for the good and the bad. Take heart in reflecting on times you may have messed up by remembering that God’s grace is sufficient to heal where there is hurt. When reflecting on victories, celebrate them and praise God. I encourage you to pray that God will help you be mindful of those around you today so that your decisions, both big and small, can be used to build up the body of Christ.