I read an interesting quote the other day by William Gurnall, 17^th century pastor and author.  He said, “It is worse to live like a beast than to be a beast.”  Interesting enough, a blind person who walks in darkness and has never seen light cannot fully understand what they have not experienced.  A deaf person who has never heard one single sound cannot know the extent of what they miss when a melody is played.  A person whose taste buds have never tasted honey cannot fully appreciate the savor of the sweetness.   And a person who has never loved or been loved cannot fully cherish what love entails.  Yet, take a person who has seen a glimpse of the light and cast them into darkness, or a person who has experienced the beauty of the sound of music and close up their ears, or a person who has once tasted sweetness only to never again, or a person who has loved to be filled with hatred and bitterness.  What kind of person would this be?  I would venture to say a most miserable person.

I truly believe that the most miserable person in the world is a child of God who is living in sin. 

For a child of God the darkness is past and the true light now shineth. (I Jn 2:8)  A child of God has been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. (I Peter 2:9) We were once blind, but now we see.  But, add sin to the equation and now the light is hid.  Sin causes doubt.  Sin robs joy and contentment.  Sin darkens the path. 

A child of God has heard the gospel and believed (Acts 15:7).  The true shepherd calls and the sheep hear His voice (Jn 10:3).  But add sin to the equation and the voice of the Shepherd becomes muffled.  Sin clouds the ears.  Sin causes ears to be dull of hearing.  Sin makes a man deaf to the Words of God.

 A child of God has tasted and seen that the Lord is good.  (Ps 34:8)  God Words are as sweet to the mouth, yea sweeter than honey (Ps 119:103) But, add sin to the equation and now the taste buds are dull and dry.  Sin is bitter.  Sin causes hunger.  Sin is the leaven in bread.  Sin causes the mouth to be filled with gravel. 

A child of God has experienced His love.  (I Jn 4:16)  He has commended His love toward us (Rom. 5:8) But add sin to the equation and while it will never change His love for us it most certainly changes our love for him.  If we love Him we will keep His commandments.  Sin causes disobedience.  Sin separates.  Sin reveals evil in the heart.

Take an unsaved person and while their life is empty and full of strive they truly don’t know any difference.  They are as the blind man who has never experience light, for the god of this world has blinded their minds. They are truly as a beast.   But take a saved individual who is deep in sin.  This person has touched, tasted, breathed, lived and experienced all the joys of salvation but sin has stripped away their joy and until repentance is wrought there will only be misery in the life of this person.  This person is a prince living as a pauper, a rich man living in poverty, a child of God living as a beast.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

(Psa 139:23-24)