The Result
Sin affects the quality of our lives – just like rotten fruit that looks and tastes bad, so our lives both look ugly and lack satisfaction. Nothing we do ever really makes us happy; dreams become illusive and even when we achieve them they disappoint us.
In the endless search for that next ‘high,’ some resort to substance abuse or pornography, but find no lasting fulfilment.
Sin distances us from our Maker – that is why God often seems remote, irrelevant and unconcerned. God, because He is holy, does not commit sin and cannot associate with it; thus He withdraws from us. In fact, sin acts like a barrier, dividing God and us. The worst part of this alienation is that it continues beyond now and into the life to come (beyond death) – hell will be a grim and dreadful reality for all who die in their present condition.
What can we do to combat the consequences of sin? Unfortunately, very little, as sin is a tactile super-virus which we have all inherited; we do not have an antivirus to remedy the diagnosis. Not even good behaviour, charitable works or new resolutions can reverse the critical damage already caused.