The Truth About Consequences

Read: Proverbs 26: 23-27

“Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destructiveness…” Galatians 6: 7-8 (NIV)

One of my favorite childhood stories was Pinocchio, a tale about a fabled wooden puppet lad whose nose increased in length when he failed to tell the truth. This tale seemed so real to me that as a child sometimes when I “stretched the truth”, I would surreptitiously check the length of my own nose in a mirror. At this point in my life, I no longer check its growth but I sometimes wonder what it would be like if the consequences of our acts were immediately evident. For example, if one lied, one’s nose would grow or if one gossiped, one’s mouth would become enlarged. If such scenarios would occur, one thing is certain—there would be a great number of strange looking people in our midst.

In the real world, however, consequences do not always occur at the exact moment on offence is committed, yet this delay does not mean that they will never happen, even though sometimes we may think we avoided the consequences since we didn’t immediately get caught, a direct or an indirect response will be forthcoming! The Scripture for this devotion makes clear the connection between a consequence

and wrongdoing: “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27)

Although consequences are usually not pleasant, they are an effective method for teaching us God’s will for our lives. Oft-times, the

“stress and sorrow” we suffer will far outweigh the forbidden pleasure we experienced. It is important for each believer to keep in mind another of His truisms, “We reap what we sow”.