Public Enemy No. 1

Where Does It All Start?

I don’t know; do you really think that’s a good idea?

“I don’t see why not.”

But you already have that top in blue. Do you really need it in pink?

“Sure, I have it in blue, but this one has that nice sleeve detailing on it. I saw Kate wearing it, and I just have to have it.”

That nice sleeve detailing will put you $35 over budget for this month.

“That’s OK. I can make up for the deficit next month.”

That’s what you said last month. And the month before.

“Oh, those were just small purchases. It’ll be OK, really.”

Famous last words.

So wraps up my mental dispute as I enter in my payment details and enjoy a (very) temporary serotonin boost—at least until my credit card bill arrives. Another few rounds of this, and my bank account will be sitting at an all-time low. But seriously, what do I care? As long as I have that charming pink top, I can deal with the consequences later. My personal desires are obviously the most important factors in decisions like these, right?

Thankfully, for the sake of my mental sanity and my bank account, this is a fictional account of my shopping activities. The desire to follow my own selfish and covetous whims, however, is often very nonfictional.

Now and then the consequences of my selfish pursuits are minor. Other times they are much more devastating than a slightly depleted bank account. Sometimes they start small and then escalate into something bigger than I could ever imagine.

A consistent result of every bad decision is a fracture in my relationship with Jesus. On occasion I’m left wandering around for days like Mary and Joseph, trying to find Him again. At times the consequences even extend to those around me: family, friends, coworkers. Occasionally I’m cognizant of the fact that my actions have hurt others. Other times I’m utterly ignorant of the pain I’ve inflicted, blissfully basking instead in whatever short-lived pleasure I’ve secured. By the time it gets through my thick skull that I’ve hurt Jesus, others, and myself, I wish I could say it always brings me to a deep place of repentance. But this sadly isn’t always the case. Sometimes the idol of selfish desire has become so large that I’m wholly indifferent to the pain of others and the state of my soul. I become callous, unholy, dangerous, a threat to others’ spirituality and to my own—I become public enemy no. 1.

This is the worst place we can find ourselves in, and this is where we find Achan in Joshua 7.

Achan’s Fall

The story of Achan begins immediately after Israel’s miraculous conquest of Jericho. Shortly before the walls crumbled and the Lord delivered the city into their hands, Joshua instructed the Israelite army not to take any of the spoil for themselves. They were only to preserve the silver, gold, bronze, and iron for the Lord’s treasury. As we know, this command was not heeded by everyone in attendance, and Achan decided to run off with a luxurious robe, 200 silver coins, and a bar of solid gold. When and where he was intending to tell people he got the new outfit and large nest egg from is beyond me, but we can see that he wasn’t thinking very clearly. In one act of rebellion he let his selfish desires take over—blatantly disregarding the express instruction of the Lord—and singlehandedly brought death and destruction upon the nation of Israel in the defeat at Ai. He was the weak link, the cause of damage, and no one but God knew it.

Not even Joshua knew it. He reacted to the defeat by falling before the Lord, bemoaning the fact that He had so graciously led them across the Jordan River and telling Him that the honor of His name was at stake because Israel had been defeated in battle. God responded by telling Joshua to get off the ground and address the issue at hand: sin in the camp. “You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you” (Joshua 7:13, NLT).[1]

The justice of God demanded the cleansing of sin. The mercy of God, in His next action of narrowing down the guilt, preserved the whole nation from being destroyed by one man’s sin.

As Joshua gathered the tribes and began singling out clans and families, I wonder if Achan had any kind of internal dialogue similar to my hypothetical one earlier. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that he kept silent while Joshua and the elders bowed in grief before the Lord during the proclamation of sin before the nation and even while the assignment of guilt was winnowed down from his tribe to clan to family to household.[2] Do you think there was any back-and-forth going on in his head during that time?

I don’t know, should I say something? No, it’s probably fine. How will they know? They’ll never know. There’s no way they can figure out it was me; there are millions of people here. Besides, I don’t want to give up that robe—it’s so nice. Oh, no, did they call the tribe of Judah? And the clan of Zerah?

And so on and so forth. If anything like this was happening in his head, I can imagine that it was only getting more frantic as his family, household, and eventually he himself was singled out. We know the next part of the story, and it didn’t go too well for Achan. His decision to follow his selfish desires led to a dreadful climax, and all because of one sinful act.

We will never know how many seemingly small, dishonest acts led up to that one significant decision to disregard the Lord’s instruction, but it definitely didn’t happen overnight.

One Act

Think about that. One act. One act of disobedience by one person in the whole nation of Israel led to the death of 36 men at Ai and a complete loss of courage throughout the whole camp following the defeat. It once again led Joshua to question God’s leading. And it ultimately led to Achan’s destruction, the destruction of his family, and the loss of all of his possessions. We will never know how many seemingly small, dishonest acts led up to that one significant decision to disregard the Lord’s instruction, but it definitely didn’t happen overnight.[3]

Upon his conviction, Achan came face-to-face with the deadly consequences of his actions. By his disobedience he became public enemy no. 1: the agent of ruin and, most frighteningly, an unknowing saboteur of God’s chosen people. Israel’s most dangerous foe at that time came not from a foreign nation but from the very heart of its ranks.

Am I the Problem?

This story, as disconnected as the two situations may seem, brings me back to my theoretical shopping escapade from earlier. Would going a little over budget on one piece of clothing ruin my life or my family’s? Likely not, but consistently spending too much money every month will definitely set me up for failure. Another thing to remember, and what we can glean from the story of Achan, is that small mistakes or acts of rebellion pave the way for bigger missteps further along.

Serving my own selfish desires is never worth it, as much as it may look like it in the moment. I can never know all the implications of one bad decision or how that one decision may snowball into an avalanche of bad decisions later on. The consequences of my choices may be slight; they may be significant. I may think I will be the only one affected, but no man is an island. My actions, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, will always affect others—even if it’s simply through my influence. Certain consequences may have a greater reach on large groups of people. Some may immediately and severely affect my family and friends. Others may take a longer time to set in, but will have just as devastating effects. I may never know that I am taking on the role of public enemy no. 1 in my or a loved one’s life by one moment of foolishness. But what I can know for sure is that even one poor decision will separate me from my best friend and Savior, hurt my soul, and sooner or later hurt another child of God.

So I remember Achan. I remember the separation and devastation that a weak moment can cause in one life and, by extension, in the lives of millions. I remember, and only in the strength of Jesus turn toward Him, put my selfish wants aside, and allow Him to guard my decisions—both big and small.

[1] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

[2] See Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890, 1908), pp. 497, 498.

[3] See Ellen G. White, Child Guidance (Nashville: Southern Pub. Assn., 1954), p. 234.