Causes and effects

Every day we look at things happening around us and try to figure out why they occurred.

We live and learn by observing causes and effects. Detectives try to find a criminal — the cause of a crime — by evaluating what has happened — the effects of the crime. Working backwards from effect to cause is very important for science and medicine. It’s also the work of historians.

Sometimes specific sins we commit cause bad effects in our lives. But often when we experience sickness, suffering and tragedy in our lives, we cannot see the direct cause, so we start to ask, “Did I do something to deserve this?” Should we search our hearts and try to find some hidden sin to repent of, some cause within ourselves that we are unaware of?