Tag Archives: consequences

April 10, 2023 · 5:51 AM

Choices

Since I can remember, I have never liked being told what to do. I like being asked to do something, but take away my choice and something rises up in me. My parents learned this about me early on. They would tell me I could eat my broccoli or I could stay at the table. I could see the TV from where I sat, so I stayed at the table a few nights until bedtime. They wised up and said I could eat my broccoli or I could go to my room and go to bed. That motivated me to do something about the broccoli. Sometimes I liked the choices given to me, and other times I didn’t. I’ve learned that in life choices have consequences. Some have good consequences and some not so good. I’ve also learned that my choices don’t exist in a vacuum. No matter what I choose, it affects people all around me.

When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, He gave them lots of choices. In the middle of the garden He planted the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He told them not to eat from that tree. It wasn’t long until the serpent came in Genesis 3 to tempt them with choosing to eat from that tree. He asked, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Eve responded, “‘Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die’” (NLT). The serpent challenged her trust in God’s Word and she chose to eat it. She then offered some to Adam and he chose to eat it as well. They then chose to try to conceal it from God and faced the consequences of their choices.

In Deuteronomy 11:26 God offered Israel (and us) a choice. He said, “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse!” It seems like an easy choice, but we choose the curse over the blessing pretty often. The good news is God is there to forgive us when we make the wrong choice. Life would have been easier without the choice, but God, who is love, understands that if He were to remove our choice, it would remove our ability to love Him fully. The choice isn’t there to trick us or tempt us. It’s there so that we can choose our creator over the things He created. It’s to show if we trust Him or ourselves. To this day, He still gives each of us this choice. As you go about your day, you’re going to be given several opportunities to choose what He wants or what you want. Either one you choose has consequences. You can have a blessing or a curse. One choice may offer you an immediate result, while His results often come over time. Listen to the Holy Spirit and seek His wisdom in what you choose daily.

Photo by Einar Storsul on Unsplash

Escaping Consequences

We learn about consequences from the time we are very young. As we grow up and face more of them, we begin to try to hide our actions so we don’t have to face them. Then there are times when we blame others for what we’ve done and they have to suffer the consequences for our actions. No matter how old we get, there will always be consequences for our actions. It’s part of God’s design of reaping what we sow. I’ve found that some seeds take a lot longer to harvest than others. The results of our actions can sometimes be felt years later rather than immediately.

When it comes to sin, there’s an eternal consequence that comes with it beyond just the one we get here. I remember over 20 years when Texas was about to execute its first woman on death row. She had become a Christian while in prison, and there were many people trying to keep her from being executed because of her faith. She ended up paying the price for her actions on earth, but didn’t have to suffer the eternal effects because Christ paid the price and took those consequences for her. When we accept Jesus as our savior, it doesn’t relieve us of our I’m consequences, but thank God we don’t have to pay the eternal ones.

Here are some Bible verses on Jesus taking our consequences.

1. Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.

Hebrews 9:27-28 MSG

2. Whoever seeks to save his life will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] will keep it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].

LUKE 17:33 AMP

3. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin].

EPHESIANS 4:30 AMP

4. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].

ROMANS 5:10 AMP

5. God made Jesus, who never personally sinned, experience the consequences of sin so that we could have a character that is right as God is right.

2 Corinthians 5:21 FBVNTPSALMS

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Consequences

When I was little, my mom said, “Don’t touch that. It’s hot.” What did I do? I touched it and got burned. When I got a little older, she said, “Don’t eat mushrooms in the back yard.” What did I do? I fed them to my younger brother and I got spanked. A few years later, she said, “Don’t talk that way.” What did I do? I said a few choice words and got my mouth washed out with a Ivory soap. Each time I disobeyed, I suffered the consequences of those actions whether it was through her punishment or the physical result of disobedience.

In the Garden of Eden, God said, “Don’t eat of that tree in the middle.” What did they do? They ate from the tree and were kicked out of the garden. God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments. What have we done since? We’ve broken them and suffered the consequences. In my own life, I’ve known what God has said, and I’ve lived in violation of the way He has said to live and I’ve suffered the consequences.

Several years ago, while suffering with the consequences of my choices, God was using them to try to bring me back into right relationship with Him. The more I pushed back, the more it seemed I suffered. I eventually surrendered, but had to live with the consequences. The pain of that time has been a constant reminder to me to follow God’s will and plan. Do I do it all the time? No. I still disobey at times, but those times are getting fewer and I’m learning to repent faster.

All of us face the consequences of our sins. It’s designed to help us remember to obey much like my punishments when I was younger. Psalm 119:71 says, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees” (NLT). We don’t like the suffering from our consequences, but it helps us remember in the future to walk in obedience to what God says. God sets life and death before us. Oh that we would obey His Word and choose life. It’s a much less painful route.

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