Sin???

Sin is an interesting subject don't ya think? I've always found it interesting, wondering what it is, wondering why it is and wondering why I continue to do it. When I was young I thought it was a list of things you couldn't do and if you did do them you were going to Hell, no passing go, no collecting $200. As a result when I was old enough to realize I had sinned and could not seem to keep from sinning, I lost all hope. I decided that if I was going to hell anyway I might as well dive in and enjoy myself while I was here. I did and I still pay the consequence of those sins at times. As I grew older and God sneaked up on me and introduced me to the Holy Spirit a new light was cast upon sin and why it was sin. I think growing up I thought that sin was just a list of things I was not suppose to like or enjoy. What I realize now is that sins are thinks that are bad for my health, both my physical health and my spiritual health. They are things that actually take away from my life and my joy because they do harm. Much like poison the bigger the dose the more the harm and the longer the results last. I also have been thinking about Exodus 20:5 where God says he will punish the children for the sins of their Father to the third and fourth generation.I have always had trouble with this verse and I guess it sometimes haunts me. It seems totally out of place for the God that I know. It seems like there is the God of the Old Testament and the God I grew up knowing, the God of anger and destruction. And the God of the New Testament, the God I now know, the God of love and beauty and wonder. I've come to the conclusion that something is amiss. The two Gods are one in the same and should be the same in both testaments.Not being a scholar and not being able to speak or read the languages of the Bible I don't really know but I suspect something has been lost in the translation. I think the consequences of a father or mothers sin can last through several generations. I say this because I have discovered that depression in its simplest form is negative thinking. This is something that I learned from my parents and they learned from my parents. Now is this sin? It does harm to ones psyche so I tend to think it may be. Look at HIV, it starts with sex out of marriage and can be transferred to the next generation and the next.I really believe that all disease, physical and mental is a result of sin. All this may be far fetched to some but to me it makes sense and explains the reason for life spans to shorten from the early biblical times.None of this may actually make sense but occasionally I like to wander around the attics of my mind and ruminate over some of my far out there thoughts.So comment if you like or tear me a new one if you would rather but maybe it will give you something to chew on.