The Problem of Secret Sin

The Problem of Secret Sin

The timeless Golden Rule is to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But, what is the Golden Rule of our day? I think it would be something like: You do you. As long as you are not hurting anyone, you are free to do whatever you want. The idea is that what an individual does in private should not be the interest of anyone else. In our era of radical individualism, these are axioms that are uncritically assumed. 

Unfortunately, when we ask some basic questions we realize this modern view of moral responsibility is an oversimplification. Should one person’s actions done in private, matter to anyone else? Is it anyone's business whether you obey God in private?

Does a Father’s sin uniquely affect his family? Does the private sin of individuals affect their community (family, church, city, nation)? 

In Joshua 7, Israel has just had a triumphant victory over Jericho. There next adversary was a small city called Ai. Israel would have been able to easily defeat them except God was not with them. Ai won the first battle because God was bringing judgement upon Israel as a result of sin in their camp. One man sinned and the whole nation experienced a defeat.