THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN

There was once a time when morality meant something in this country. That time is no more. Recently the great basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced he had contracted the AIDS virus and was retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers. People around the world reacted with shock and dismay. Not at what he had done to contract the disease, but just the fact that it had happened to such a great person. Based on his reputation, Magic Johnson is indeed one of the better men in professional sports today. But how did such a good man contract such a dreaded disease? His personal physician said it was through sex. Sex with a woman he was not married to. So is Mr. Johnson the innocent victim of a terrible tragedy as the world says, or did he perhaps bring all of this upon himself? I would never wish this disease on anyone, but when a person acquires it through an immoral and sinful act, I cannot feel much pity for the person.

Magic Johnson says that he will now become a spokesman for "safe sex." Safe sex means nothing more than "its alright to fornicate as long as you take the proper precautions." When did the Bible change to allow this? The Bible teaches that sex is allowed ONLY within marriage. Apparently Mr. Johnson has not yet learned his lesson. But neither has the rest of the world. A righteous and moral person has very little to fear from AIDS. While it is possible to contract it through blood transfusions, the odds are very slim. The primary ways of transmission are all sinful. Intravenous drug users, homosexuals, adulterers, and fornicators are the main ones at risk. Yet most people still scoff at the notion that AIDS is a punishment from God against the wicked. How foolish this generation is!

Magic Johnson may be a really nice person, but that does not excuse his immoral behavior. He rolled the dice and he lost. How many more will walk the same path behind him? How many more must die before people begin to wake up? Sin continues to take its toll all around us, yet the world presses on as if nothing were wrong.

In the long run AIDS is meaningless. It cannot damn the soul to hell. However, the sins which bring it on certainly can. God continues to show man the consequences of his sin, but to no avail. Man laughs in the face of God. Man believes he is the God of his own destiny. But just perhaps Magic Johnson's mistake will cause a few to see through the smoke-screen. To see reality as it is. To understand that a fate far worse than AIDS awaits those who fail to submit themselves to God. Perhaps I am being a little harsh on Mr. Johnson, but reality is often harsh And what has happened to him he brought upon himself. Its too late for him to change things now. What's done is done. Likewise, we too must someday face the consequences of our actions. If we find ourselves tormented in the flames of hell for ever and ever, we can know one thing for sure. We are not there because of someone else's mistake. We, like Magic Johnson, will have brought it all upon ourselves.