Abraham’s Compromise: Consequences of sin in relationships

“Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” Genesis 12:13 NIV

Abraham was deceitful and selfish in passing his wife off to Pharaoh as his sister. Materially he benefited a lot. Pharaoh “… treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.” (Genesis 12: 16) This action however caused a lot of sorrow and bitterness all round. Sarah must have felt betrayed. Pharaoh and his household got serious diseases. One of the female servants acquired Hagar later became a source of bitterness to his marriage and to his chosen line of descendants.  And the property gained also caused a rift with his nephew Lot and they had to separate.

Any of your deceitful and selfishness actions will not fare any better. You and those around you will suffer lasting harm. Our reasoning no matter how rational it appears cannot offer real lasting solutions. We are limited in our thoughts and cannot see far. Only persistence in faith in God can offer solutions that are not fleeting or temporary.

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Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity and not having dignity in life. That's really where failure comes. - Tom Cochrane

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