"Happenstance"

"So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; they were not estranged from their lust: but while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel." (Psalms 78:29-31) It just so happens, this is the result of sinful desire; regardless of what you might think otherwise, the result of sin is always death. David is always the best to demonstrate this fact; as you must all know, his sin committed against God with Bathsheba was not just a fling or some casual encounter, it was down right murder. And not just any kind of murder, like killing someone who did you wrong or was his enemy, but David killed someone loyal to him, someone who was actually willing to die for him. Don't think for a moment that sin does not have some kind of affect, because it does; even though our sins might be forgiven, there are ripples caused in the wake of sin, ripples that are left for others to contend with. If you look at the word "estranged," it pretty much sums up what happened in the case of these "fattest of them." It happens to be a word that depicts their relationship with their sinful desires, in that they were more comfortable with their sin, then they were without it. In other words, they had no desire to turn away from their sinful lust, none whatsoever. You really want to know the sad part about all this, is the fact that they were "the chosen men of Israel," and yet they were strangers to their God! As I said previously, there is a very fine line between right and wrong, obedience and wickedness, trusting God and not trusting Him; having a relationship with God is based upon a desire to be close to God! Do you know why we need to desire to be close to God? Stuff happens, that's why! I don't ever want to be out of God's will. I don't ever want to be out on my own, doing whatever I want; because all though it says in His word, "All things work towards the good," I never want to assume for a moment that "All" includes my sinful desires and lustful passions...
"Well then, since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves of righteous living." (Romans 6:15-18) NLT