Devotion 

Sin’s Punishment 

Frances Taylor 

People often blame God when bad things happen and feel it's God's punishment for sin But this passage from Genesis lets us know that sometimes sin brings its own punishment. We all know the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors that his brothers were so envious of since they were jealous of their father's preference for Joseph. We know how they sold their brother and told their father he was dead and how Joseph wound up in Egypt. Now the brothers are in Egypt seeking food because there was a famine in Canaan where they were living. Joseph recognizes them, but they don't have a clue. Now, they feel the guilt of having sold their brother and know that they deserve whatever happens to them. Sin has effects. People who lie aren't trusted. People who steal, find it hard to get a job. People who flaunt authority, who feel the rules don't apply to them, run into problems and often find themselves in jail. Many of these people will ask, "Why me? Why is God doing this to me?" The answer is obvious to others. God isn't doing anything to them, they have done it to themselves. The easy answer to avoiding these problems is just don't sin, but we know that that isn't always possible. What we can do is to take responsibility for our behavior, recognize our sins, ask for forgiveness and ask for help to avoid sin in the future.

Prayer 

Forgiving Lord, you don't need to punish us as we seem to do a good job of doing that ourselves. Help us to recognize our sins and ask you for forgiveness as well as the strength to avoid the situations that lead us to sin. Amen.