The Toll of Sin

March 7

Leviticus 27

Psalm 31:9-18

Proverbs 7:9-12

Mark 9:30-41

The Toll of Sin

“Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, for I am in distress;  My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.  For my life is worn down with sorrow and my years with sighing;  My strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.”  Psalm 31:9-10 LSB

The toll of sin is heavy.  We are not told what sin David was referring to in this passage, but it may have been the sins of committing adultery with Bathsheba, murdering her husband and taking her for his wife.   Whatever the specific iniquity, it is evident that he is paying a heavy price for his sin physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  This Psalm may have been written around the same time as Psalm 32 in which he notes that when he kept silent about his sin, he was groaning all day and night, his vitality was drained away, and his bones were wasting away.  The time between his sin and when Nathan confronted him was a miserable time living under the weight of conviction.  When he was confronted, David responded humbly and faithfully confessing his sin and begging God for forgiveness.  God immediately forgave Him and restored their relationship, however, He did not remove the consequences of his sin.  The baby Bathsheba was carrying died and strife entered his household. 

            Sin and guilt are costly.  God loves us and will not let us “get away” with sin because He knows the destruction it can cause in our lives.  He is a merciful Father who wants to teach us to be righteous and holy and to flee from sin.  As David experienced guilt and conviction, the joy and vitality in his life was drained away.  Any pleasure he got from his relationship with Bathsheba was gone and he was left with a heaviness of heart and physical weakness.  His other relationships suffered.  He was a reproach to his adversaries and an object of dread to his acquaintances.  He says that everyone avoided him and treated him as though he was already dead.  He had become isolated in his sin.  Whether this was the reality of how others treated him or it was his perception based on his own guilty conscience is insignificant.  It had become his reality.  Emotionally, guilt had led to depression, anxiety, and fear. 

When David referred to his bones wasting away, he was speaking of being in deep physical distress.  The bones are usually the part of our bodies that are the strongest. The bones remain even when everything else has wasted away, but David is saying that even his bones were wasting away and causing him to be weak.  The toll of unconfessed sin can eventually lead to physical illness, chronic pain, and a general feeling of being unwell.  But the heaviest toll we pay for sin is the separation from God we experience.  Running from God and trying to hide our sin leaves an  ache in our souls that can only be filled with confession and a restoration of  fellowship with God.  Pastor Greg Laurie says of sin, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay.”3  Consider the cost before you choose to sin and when you sin, listen to the voice of conviction quickly.