Sin though pleasurable is still deadly.

[Neighbor]

1 hour ago, Neighbor said:

The Lord...visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation. (Exodus 34:6-7  Deuteronomy 5:8-10)

"And now, the rest of the story." I think that is the way Paul Harvey used to say it. Deuteronomy adds some qualifying context 

" ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;  you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,  but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

 

Ah ha, and just what are those commandments that one who loves God are to keep? Here God really expands on the subjects of sin, obedience, and love  of him. Keep his commandments! Which most here know or should at least  be familiar with as the ten commands of God. I consider them to be the qualifiiers that  measure our love for Him, or lack thereo of:

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

 ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.  And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

 ‘You shall not murder. ‘You shall not commit adultery. ‘You shall not steal. ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

' These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me."

 

[D. Adrien]

Also throughout the N.T. verses can be read commanding the keeping of His Commandments.

 

[Neighbor]

If my father hates God and teaches me I am also likely to  what? -Hate God too. For I will have seen and been raised by one who does hate God. This may extend even to the third and fourth generation. I think that means in one household of many generations more so than a series of generations by time at separate locations or abodes. It was and to some degree still is common to  have four generations under one roof and one leader.

Anyone that is called by the Holy Spirit and heeds that call  breaks that chain of hatred  and receives the love of God.

Just the way I see it anyway.

[D. Adrien]

2 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

If my father hates God and teaches me I am also likely to  what? -Hate God too. For I will have seen and been raised by one who does hate God. This may extend even to the third and forth generation. I think that means in one household of many generations more so than a series of generations by time at separate locations or abodes. It was and to some degree still is common to  have four generations under one roof and one leader.

Anyone that is called by the Holy Spirit and heeds that call  breaks that chain of hatred  and receives the love of God.

Just the way I see it anyway.

This is the exact same thought I had perhaps less than hour ago!

I was burdened for the past week to post this originating post on this site. After I did today, that burden was lifted from me. I believe somebody is going to view this that is in need of this information. May it be of a help to whomever.

[Starise]

Lots of these things are indeed generational in nature, but as has been said they CAN be broken. There are unbelievers and there are deliberate followers of Satan.

They won't part easily with a person in the position to consider getting out of it.

Consider several testimonies of ex witches and warlocks who were in a "prayer meeting". Yes they pray for our confusion and destruction. In at least a few cases the warlocks were tasked with squelching a movement for God. They will often infiltrate prayer groups to throw them off. They HATE prayer against them and their ways. They are like a pack of wolves looking for a straggler.

They probably pray harder than most Christians.

One of them was out of his body going to a neighborhood to curse and disrupt their activities, only to find that he had no power there The Lord even blinded them to where the prayer meeting was held. This eventually caused the warlock to investigate. He was eventually saved.

The first category is much easier for the enemy because they agree with everything they are fed. Blinded. 

Personal sin has lasting effects on believers. Samson is a good example of this. We can turn back around but may still have those lasting effects.

[D. Adrien]

17 minutes ago, Starise said:

Personal sin has lasting effects on believers. Samson is a good example of this. We can turn back around but may still have those lasting effects.

I agree Starise, like tossing a pebble in a still pool of water and watching the ripples radiate away from the center. Sins lasting effects cascading out away from the sinner bringing damage to not only the perpetrator of the sin, but to others coming into the affected "zone." Answering the question about why there is evil in this world. We being unwilling participants through our natural selves.

 

[Starise]

35 minutes ago, D. Adrien said:

I agree Starise, like tossing a pebble in a still pool of water and watching the ripples radiate away from the center. Sins lasting effects cascading out away from the sinner bringing damage to not only the perpetrator of the sin, but to others coming into the affected "zone." Answering the question about why there is evil in this world. We being unwilling participants through our natural selves.

 

I wish I couldn’t personally attest to this.

[D. Adrien]

3 minutes ago, Starise said:

I wish I couldn’t personally attest to this.

Don't feel alone in this. :)

[AnOrangeCat]

7 hours ago, Neighbor said:

A household often suffers the sins of the head of that household does it not?( A household of three and even four generations living under it.) So; could be a timeline  of generations  or a common physical location at one time that are affected.

Yeah. I'm pretty well acquainted with that. My parents were heavy on drugs and alcohol. My five sisters all grew up at least going through phases of drug and alcohol involvement and ended up in a cycle of bad relationships. People often think sin only affects them, or that the only one it hurts is themselves, but it's like ripples in a pond. It can extend well beyond ourselves and a single moment in time.

Going back to the premise of the original post, that sin is pleasurable but deadly, I had an experience that seems relevant. It wasn't really a sin IMO but I think it illustrates the point. I feed the cats that live around my porch every now and then, and some of them can be a little pushy. If I'm not very careful about opening the door and how I maneuver to get in/out of the house they'll sometimes form a crowd and barge their way into the house as a swarm (I affectionately call this event a purricane), and then I have to chase them out. On one such occasion my cat got really friendly with some of the invaders and was smelling and licking them, and they were friendly in turn. Cute, right? Within a few days time my cat was coughing, sneezing, and sniffling. It lasted a week or so before it cleared up. It struck me them as an illustration of how sin can seem innocent yet still have serious consequences that remain in play longer than you'd like.

[Neighbor]

57 minutes ago, AnOrangeCat said:

my cat

Ah ha, therein is the problem for having a cat is a sin in the first place.

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p.S. I have one too ( It came with my Russian catalog  bride via Texas).