One person's impact

As I read in Joshua this morning, I was so impressed with the sad story of Achan.
Joshua chapter 6 recounts the wonderful story of the Israelites miraculous defeat of the city of Jericho. The people were instructed to utterly destroy everything in the city; every person, every animal, every item. Only silver, gold, and bronze would be saved, and those things would all be given to the Lord's treasury.
When the wall of Jericho tumbled, the warriors went in and destroyed the city, killing everyone but Rahab's family. But Achan saw some things that he wanted. He took them and hid them in his tent.
The next town the Israelites were to attack was Ai, a tiny village that would be easy to defeat.
Joshua 7:4 "So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away."
Joshua went before God in desperation, and eventually, God led him to Achan, who admitted that while fighting in Jericho, he saw a beautiful robe imported from Babylon, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. "I wanted them so much that I took them" was his explanation. After finding the stolen items hidden in his tent, the leaders took them, along with Achan, his sons, his daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent, and everything he had. All of the Israelites stoned Achan and his family, then burned their bodies and all of his belongings.
This story really sobers me, as I begin to consider how much my actions may have on my family, and on God's people. Look at all the negative impact Achan's action had.
1. His sin brought defeat to the Israelites.
2. His sin caused the death of 36 innocent warriors.
3. His sin caused the people to be afraid, to lose faith in God.
4. His sin brought shame to the Lord. After He had done so many great things for the Israelites, brought them so far, given them a great victory over Jericho, now He deserted them. Because of Achan, God looked either weak or unfaithful to the nations.
5. His sin brought death to his sons and daughters.

When I see something that I want, and I am tempted, I want to remember that my sin will have serious consequences, not only for me, but for the people that I love.