There are always consequences of our actions and our inactions, too. Maybe you’re not the kind of person who thinks about the consequences. You just jump right in, sink or swim! Or maybe you just sit back and watch!
What are you jumping into? Is it sin? What are you sitting back to watch? Is it porn on your computer?
“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:7)
At some point in your life, I hope you will contemplate your choices first – before you act unwisely or before you morph into the computer! If you don’t, the consequences will catch up with you and they’ll be pronounced. Sometimes they are severe and sometimes we seem to get a reprieve.
Inactions may be contemplated at times, but if they’re never taken and turned into actions, then the Word of God indicates that they are equally sinful.
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
The class president from my high school was married for many years. He and his wife had children together. Although it’s difficult for me to comprehend, after a long-term marriage, he pursued gross actions that had dire consequences. He had his wife murdered! Yes, the mother of their children! It is quite astonishing that a fellow classmate who also grew up in a very good neighborhood could take this kind of action, whether at his own hands or the hands of someone else. It’s sad, but true.
Of course, the “good neighborhood” of his upbringing didn’t matter. We know this can happen no matter where you were raised. Evil has no boundaries! The enemy is at work in the invisible realm behind the scenes, and if we allow the enemy to convince us, our own eternal life and that of our loved ones will be at risk.
Eventually, the classmate’s consequences were forcefully pronounced by the judge, but they seemed inadequate for his actions. Would it be more fitting if he had received the death penalty of an “eye for an eye” type of consequence?
Someday, we will learn the ultimate consequences of our actions and inactions when we pass on. We will hear the ultimate judge pronounce our consequences. Are we any more deserving of our own actions or inactions? Will they be considered good or bad? There can be dire consequences of each and every action we take and the neglectful inactions.
The Bible tells us: “… If you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. …” (Colossians 3:25) — This seems fitting, doesn’t it?
We may sin by lying or we may do something in anger. No matter what sin we commit, the consequences will always follow. Even if you don’t get caught in your sin, you will probably reap the consequences someday. They have a way of catching up with you!
There are most certainly things I have done that I regret. Haven’t we all? We all fall short, God tells us, of His wonderful glory, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to live in obedience and avoid negative consequences. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to determine His will and follow it.
There are plenty of things that I wish I would have accomplished that have never occurred.
In addition, God’s Word is clear that we should never mock Him in the process:
“Do not be deceived for God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows that he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
I recently met three people who I had not met before. After an event we all attended, we went to a restaurant and all sat together in a booth. Three of us began having a conversation, and as we spoke about prayer, it was apparent that three of us professed to be Christians. However, it become obvious that the other person did not speak at all during this conversation. It was also obvious that he was listening though.
I made a statement that I had been praying that God will lead me to the right path.
As we were all leaving to get up from the booth, that same man leaned in close, and quietly whispered to me with a sarcastic tone: “God will never answer you!”
In astonishment, I asked the man, “Don’t you believe in God?”
“No!” he emphatically replied!
I attempted to speak with him, but he became more belligerent and stated that he’s a “good person” so he doesn’t have to believe. He had closed ears. If that man chooses to continue on the same path, there will be dire consequences for him. “Being a good person” is not a “ticket to Heaven.”
We all have a choice of our eternal consequence: the ultimateconsequence. We must not continue to live in known sin or continue to sit on the sidelines never answering the call of God on our life either.
It all comes down to this: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
This may be your lot in life and death and the consequences if you don’t accept salvation: “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:40-46)
Every one of us will have several chances to make right or wrong choices. Everyone will also have the opportunity to accept the truth to determine their ultimate consequence.
In my very first blog entry, I asked a question in my title: “Are You a Christian?” Consider going back to read that very short entry.
What you must understand is this: Christianity requires going beyond accepting and believing in God. I have met all too many men and women who have claimed to be Christians, but their actions and inactions seem to reveal otherwise. You can not have it both ways: You cannot profess Christianity and continue to live in blatant sin. Stop and think about the consequences of your actions and your inactions! There are consequences for each.
“If you do what is wrong, you will receive the consequences of the wrong you have done, and that is without partiality.” (Colossians 3:25)
We must master sin and we must have a standard. The Holy Bible is our standard and it is God’s Word for today, tomorrow, and forever.
Please don’t pay the eternal consequence described in the scripture below for God’s Word for Today. You won’t be able to change that and you will regret it! I don’t ever want it to be an “I told you so.” I want us all to go to Heaven!
Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.
God’s Word for Today: There are eternal consequences, God warns: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
Copyright © 2015 by Patricia Shehan
