Some Sins Seem to Do More Damage

Some Sins Seem to Do More Damage
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 by Dan Allen

A drunken sea captain and airline passenger, as well as an angry train engineer led to problems on the sea and air and catastrophe on land.

In late February comes three transportation stories. This first is of a drunken sea captain who crashed his Russian cargo ship into a bi-level bridge in South Korea. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the bridge had to be shutdown to check it’s stability, not to mention the red face of the sailor. Then there’s the drunken airline passenger who tried to slug a member of a flight crew. The flight, which had traveled four hours from Hawaii toward South Korea, turned back to expel the inebriated passenger. I’m guessing the other 262 passengers and 13 crew were none too happy for this almost 10-hour delay in arrival.

But the worst story comes out of Egypt. An engineer–less engine smashed into buffers at an Egyptian train station platform filled with travelers, causing a firestorm when its fuel tanks exploded. So far two dozen are dead with more than 70 injured. Where was the engineer, you ask? According to one report, he had hopped off the engine, thinking it was stopped, and was fighting with another engineer whose train was in his way.

Anger and drunkenness—one causing embarrassment and the other, mayhem, devastating lives forever. Both, sins identified in the Bible.

Drunkenness, not necessarily a key Biblical sin, is mentioned, however, along with envy, orgies, and things like these in Galatians 5:21. And it’s cast as the opposite of Holy Spirit filling when Paul notes we should not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, (Eph. 5:18). I’ve been a teetotaler all my life so this has never been an issue. I had a son and father killed by a drunk driver and one high on drugs, respectively. Thus, the issue strikes a sore note with me, not to mention the thousands who are killed on our roadways each year by those who are drunk or high. So to me, it’s an egregious sin.

But anger is a particular sin that creates untold havoc and affects all of us to one degree or another.

According to an assortment of Scriptures: anger, obviously, doesn’t produce righteousness (James 1:20). It’s a tool of fools and lies in their laps (Prov. 29:11; Ecc.7:9). It is ranked along with rage, malice, slander and filthy language with which we should rid ourselves (Col. 3:8). It causes fights and quarrels (James 4:1)—a natural outbreak of it. It is subject to judgment (Mt. 5:22). And, if that isn’t enough, to my knowledge it is the only sin identified that is an entrance way for Satan to get a foothold in someone’s life (Eph. 4:27). All others are as well, but this is specifically mentioned as such.

So, there’s a good reason not to sin. Not only because it displeases our God, which is the ultimate reason we should not sin, but its consequences are numerous and often disastrous and deadly.