Sins of our youth...

Have you ever heard any one say that they thought they were paying for the sins of their youth? Perhaps you have said it yourself, I know that I have.
Have you ever considered what people might mean when they say that?

Perhaps they are referring to a time in their teenage years when they climbed up into a tree and tried bungee jumping with a rope and a board and they hit the ground...hard... not that I would know anything about doing something as stupid as that mind you, but they think of those things when their old bones are aching and they say in effect that they are paying for the sins of their youth.

Of course there are other ways to pay for the "old days" as well. You may find this hard to believe but I was kind of wild around the edges when I was a younger man and I did some pretty stupid things,see the above paragraph, things that I would have to say that I am not proud of now, but were done none the less. Back in those days I took drugs, I didn't care what,as long as it didn't involve needles, and I smoked. It could be argued that the reason I never got past high school was because of the drugs and it was just as easy to go with the military. It could be said that if I was to develop lung cancer that it would be due to my foolishness in smoking in the first place. These could be seen as ways that you pay for the sins of your youth.

Relationships. I know for a fact that there are some of you who are reading this that I have hurt in the past.I am truly sorry for the pain that I caused.Some of you reading this have hurt other's. You might not have thought much about it at the time,as kids we generally don't,but now as an adult you remember and are troubled.
You ask questions , such as, what if...pick your if, and you realize that you will probably never know.We can't go back and change it so the memories hurt and you regret them and so in effect you are paying for them.

Really though what is the truth in all this, do we really pay for our past sins,especially those from our younger days ? I would have to say yes, to a point.
If you are Jewish or a Christian then you know that G-D forgives those who come to Him for forgiveness, the sins themselves are gone, but many times we have to live with the consequences of that sin.
If you were a smoker, you could develop lung cancer because of it. If you messed around and got pregnant you may have found yourself with a child. If you jumped out of trees while stoned then your bones are probably going to ache.
I think you get my point.You do stupid things, there is a price to pay.

G-D gives us some sound advice from Jeremiah, kind of wish that I had heard this and had listened when I was younger, might have saved me and a few others from some trouble. Jer. 6:16
This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
If you think about this a bit you will see how it applies. Simply put; If in our youth we had stopped long enough to ask, we might have found the best path to follow, that of course being G-D's ways, the "ancient paths". Might have saved a bone ache or two...OK so maybe not, stoned or not I would have tried it.


So do we pay a price for our own stupidity? Yes. But there is still G-D's ancient path waiting on us; Care to take a walk ?

Shalom,
Ignacio