by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
We had Paradise and God, and everything was good, beautiful, and perfect.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ruin-200x300.jpg\")
Then sin entered the world, and we lost a perfect paradise, fellowship with God who is perfect, access to the tree of life, and were left to deal with a world of problems and hardships. Sin spread all over the place through people and more problems were experienced.<\/p>\n
Why do we keep repeating the same misery-giving sins? What good do drinking alcohol and drug abuse do? A little pleasure for a lot of addiction and misery. Does that make sense? What peace and happiness can we have in a world of alcoholics, drug addicts, and hateful people who murder your character if not your body? The works of the flesh promote more evil and misery (Galatians 5:19-21). Not only do these things promote misery and unhappiness now, but they set people up for eternal misery and separation from God and all that is truly good.<\/p>\n
There is a more excellent way (John 14:6; I Corinthians 12:31-13:13). It comes down to whether we decide to be wise or foolish (Matthew 7:21ff). The wise will make good decisions that make life better here and perfect in eternity, while the foolish will continue to make foolish choices that keep them enslaved to sin that leads to much misery here and nothing good in hell for eternity. Sin blinds them. Sin ruins everything! Jesus is the way out! Be wise and take hold of Him!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton We had Paradise and God, and everything was good, beautiful, and perfect. Then sin entered the world, and we lost a perfect paradise, fellowship with God who is perfect, access to the tree of life, and were left to deal with a world of problems and hardships. Sin spread all over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[424,179],"class_list":["post-48789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-consequences","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24339,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-put-negative-circumstances-in-our-path\/","url_meta":{"origin":48789,"position":0},"title":"Does God put negative circumstances in our path?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: God bless. Really enjoyed the online article about\u00a0Overcoming Bitterness by Lawrence Kelley.\u00a0 The analogy of the \"sweet wood\" of the cross making our bitter souls sweet was excellent.\u00a0 I am going to share that at our next Bible Study. He did, however, contradict the scriptures when he wrote: \"He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29763,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-wait-for-me-to-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":48789,"position":1},"title":"Does God wait for me to sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does God wait for me to sin? Answer: Sin is something everyone ends up doing. \"What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: \"There is none righteous, no,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33829,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-have-his-son-killed-instead-of-just-killing-the-devil-and-ending-everything\/","url_meta":{"origin":48789,"position":2},"title":"Why did God have His Son killed instead of just killing the devil and ending everything?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've seen this reposted on several internet platforms and I just want to know your thoughts on this: why did God have His Son killed instead of just killing the devil and ending everything? Answer: Ending Satan immediately would seem like a just response to the misery Satan has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93994,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-bible-teach-degrees-of-misery-in-the-afterlife-for-the-unfaithful\/","url_meta":{"origin":48789,"position":3},"title":"Does the Bible Teach Degrees of Misery in the Afterlife for the Unfaithful?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Several passages strongly imply that judgment varies based on knowledge, responsibility, and the severity of one's actions. Perhaps it will torture all, in various degrees, to realize how close to salvation they had opportunities, but did not pursue or take advantage of. It would torture me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60258,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fearfulness-of-saul\/","url_meta":{"origin":48789,"position":4},"title":"The Fearfulness of Saul","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford Saul is one of the great tragic figures of the Old Testament and indeed of the Bible. Because of the connections between his story and the story of David, we know more about him than about any other spiritual failure. It is truly telling that his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/fear-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":90239,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-and-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":48789,"position":5},"title":"God and Good","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Have you ever noticed how the book of Genesis begins and ends? It begins with God creating everything and \"it was good\" (Genesis 1). After man chose to let sin in the world, it was cursed (Genesis 3). 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