Be careful of the life you choose to live. We often believe that we can live life any way we desire. To the point of taking God’s grace for granted, living selfishly. We stretch and bend the definition of God’s free will by shaping it around what best fits our will instead of God’s will. Some even confuse the definition of God’s love with the definition of our love that fits our comfort zone and own understanding. You know, “it’s your thang you do what you want to do. I can’t tell you who to sock it too; or love the one you with”, sung so eloquently by the well-known Isley Brothers. So, we march to the beat of our own drums. Dance to our own music, blinded to no end in sight as if the music will continue and never come to an end. How misguided are we to believe or even think there are no consequences to our choices.
What you reap is what you sow. With every choice there is a consequence attached to it. A consequence is a result of some action or behavior. When you sow or execute a sinful action, from that sinful action you will reap or receive a return of a sinful demise. If you want kindness, you must be kind. If you want respect, you must show respect. If you want mercy, you must sow mercy. If you want friends, you must show yourself friendly. We sometimes believe that it is ok to do to others derogatively and expect it to be well with them. Ironically, we look strange when derogative actions return unto us. Then, we get into our feelings or become defensive. Putting on the façade as though we are the victim or have been victimized. People can be irrational, unreasonable, illogical, rude, obnoxious, and self-centered but we are commanded to love them anyway. What you reap is what you sow.
The book of Luke 16: 19-31, tells a story about a rich man who lived his life lavishly and selfishly without any other concerns except his own. He overlooked the needy that merely desired to receive the crumbs that fell from his table. Judgement day presented itself where the needy man died, and the angels carried him into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man had died but he went to hell and was tormented in the flames. He looked up and cried out to Father Abraham asking for him for mercy and to send the poor man (named Lazarus) a finger of water to cool his tortured tongue. In short, the story exhibits the consequences of the rich man’s choices in life. His choices produced his consequences of judgement to hell. He received his rewards based on how he lived not thinking of the greater reward, life eternal.
Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you; Matthew 7:12. Make wise choices because the judgement of consequences has an interesting sense of timing. Its humor is sometimes in poor taste to some who do not find it humorous. Be assured that the day of judgement will come for us all and it is inevitable. Our choices have consequences! How will you choose?
