“I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1 NLT)
The fourth result of sin is relational distance and discord.
In a perfect environment where there is no sin, you’re not going to have any conflict. But in a marriage where you take one person who’s imperfect and another person who’s imperfect, it cannot make a perfect relationship. It is impossible. You’re not going to have a perfect relationship. You’re going to have problems in
any relationship.
Solomon mentions this, too. In Ecclesiastes he says, “I’ve been watching people in the world, and you know what I’ve discovered? They’re not nice to each other. People don’t treat each other kindly. People misuse each other. People abuse each other. People lie to each other. People fake each other out. People are phony in their relationships. People wear masks; they cover up; they abuse; they take advantage of each other.”
Why do we do this? Because nothing works on this planet because of sin. When we don’t follow God’s will, it causes damage.
Ecclesiastes 4:1 says,
“I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless” (NLT).
When Adam and Eve rebelled, it not only disconnected them from God; it disconnected them from each other. You cannot have the kind of intimacy God wants you to have with your spouse without having intimacy with God first. When you’re disconnected from God, there’s no way you’re going to be fully connected the way God meant for you to be as a husband and wife.
The fifth result of sin is financial and vocational difficulties.
Sin has damaged the area of your finances and career, too. How do economies get broken? By ignoring the biblical principles of finance that God has said in his Word. There are many principles of finance in Scripture. All of the economic problems we have that the government can’t seem to put together and agree on is because of irresponsible living — spending money we didn’t have and not obeying God’s financial principles.
Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 says,
“Here is a terrible thing that I have seen in this world: people save up their money for a time when they need it, and then lose it all in some bad deal and end up with nothing left to pass on to their children”(GNT).
Talk About It
- How does knowing the results of sin make you want to counter them differently or more effectively?
- How have you seen God’s grace at work in the midst of financial and vocational difficulties?
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Good Ground
that Produces |
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| TODAY’S SCRIPTURE |
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| “Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” |
| (Matthew 13:8, NLT) |
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| TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria |
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In life, there are many kinds of seeds we can sow, but do you know what produces the best crop? The seed of God’s Word planted on the soil of our hearts. The more of the Word you take into your heart, the more abundant the harvest will be.
Our job, as believers, is to make sure we are good ground. The scripture tells us there are things that can choke the seed of the Word — the cares of this world and greed and selfishness act as thorns that stop the seed from growing. It also tells us that in order for the seed to take root, we need to stand strong during the difficult times when persecution and challenges come.
If you have hard or dry places in your heart today, God wants to soften those areas. He promised in Ezekiel that He will take out the stony, hard heart and replace it with a new heart, a heart that is good ground and open to Him. This is the heart that will produce an abundant harvest of blessing in every area of your life!
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| A PRAYER FOR TODAY |
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| Father, thank You for the seed of the Word which is alive and growing in my heart. Search my heart and mind today. Have Your way in me. Use me for Your glory and produce a harvest in me in Jesus’ name. Amen. |
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