There is a difference between punishment and consequences. In our culture, the word consequence is frequently used in place of the word punishment. It is possible they may overlap, but for the sake of this writing, we are dealing with direct and indirect consequences of choices we make.
In life, there are often long term consequences for short term stupidity. That may sound harsh to you but it is true. We can not make the ugly pretty by making the words sound softer in our ears. One stupid or poorly considered decision can lead to a lifetime of unpleasant consequence just as one good action can lead to a thousand good consequences.
God forgives us when we confess and repent, BUT He does not take away the consequences. Using that as the standard by which we live our Christian life may help in understanding the cause and effect concept. Cause and effect, reaping and sowing.....same thing.
Too often, we look for someone else or some reason to blame for consequences we are responsible for. It just plain feels better to think we had no ownership of our unpleasant consequences. The infamous "They" are to blame. The common cry is that we had not choice, THEY and THEIR actions are the reason we did what we did. We are no different than a five year old blaming his three year old sibling: "It's his fault, I only hit him because he took my cookie!"
"Well, if my wife treated me better I wouldn't have to look at porn." "If my boss paid me more I wouldn't have to resort to padding the hours on my time card." "It's not my fault my parents don't give me an allowance; taking one lousy shirt isn't going to make this bankrupt this store anyway." "If she hadn't made me so angry I wouldn't have to tell her off."........the list is endless.
Sometimes we Christians even give credit to the devil for our behavior when all he had to do was sit back and watch! It is true that he roams around looking for ways to kill, steal and destroy in our lives, but our flesh can be as pesky and troublesome as he is. Temptations are everywhere. The choices we make determines the consequences we face. God makes provisions, gives us an open door to walk away from temptation; the option to choose direction of action is ours.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.
2 Peter 2:9 (The Message)
So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.
The reality is very basic, we can not stroll through life mindlessly following after our flesh. We can not live by the old mentality "If it feels good, do it!" God could have given us over to basic instinct to live as animals driven by need for survival. But we were created to communicate and fellowship with Him; so we were given minds that are capable of thinking through concepts, considering options and weighting consequences. We have free will to choose our actions and behaviors. With the free will, we are also choosing the consequences that come with it; good or bad. This is why we alone are responsible, the owners of the consequences we bring into our lives. This is what direct consequences are, the circumstances that come into play in our own lives as a direct result of choices and/or actions we have made ourselves.
Using an example from the excuses above, let's look at the chain reaction of consequences set into play.
Sam decided to add 10 hours to his time card because he's stretched for money. He felt they owned him anyway for the years he had worked there.
His supervisor catches the deviation but let's it slide.
Sam got away with it, so he does it again....and again.
His supervisor is out sick, so the department Manager is doing payroll. He sees the extra hours and knows no one is suppose to be working overtime because he has to approve it. He calls Sam in for an explanation.
Sam gets an attitude with the Manager. The Manager knows that the job can run over budget if overtime pay isn't monitored carefully. Sam just stepped over the line in his anger for being called on the carpet and the Manager fires him. Now Sam tells the Manager that a lot of people are doing it, it's no big deal and calls the manager several ugly names as he slams out of the room.
Sam has to go home and tell his wife he was fired. Not wanting to do that, he stops for a beer. He's angry so he drinks more beer and gets in a fight after shooting off his mouth. He's thrown out of the bar, jumps in his truck to leave but hits a car on his way out of the parking lot. The car's owner calls the police that arrive to find Sam on his face in the parking lot with a testy car owner sitting on him. Sam goes to jail.
Sam's wife, Pam, is frantic. She does not have the money to get Sam out of jail. Time marches on and now she has no more money to buy food for the kids or pay the already late light bill. Rent comes due and that goes unpaid as well. Pam realizes Sam doesn't even know she's pregnant with their forth child, she had planned to tell him the day he was fired but it was all but forgotten in the chaos.
Meanwhile, Sam is being a guest of the county and eating three meals a day in an air conditioned building. He can't call Pam anymore because their phone was turned off. The court appointed attorney says it will be another 45 days before Sam will get out.
With the utilities off and no food, Pam has no choice but to take the kids and move back in with her parents. They live in another city 300 miles away. Her dad rents a u-haul, drives to get Pam and the kids, loads up their possessions and drives the 300 miles back. Pam's mother is rushing around to make room for her daughter and three grandchildren in the small house they downsized to when Pam's dad retired. Sam is watching TV in the common room on the day this takes place.
Remember the supervisor that let Sam slide when he first started padding his time card? His records were audited and he as fired when the Manager discovered his practice of letting his favorite workers add hours they did not work.........
The Manager, though not aware of the what the supervisor had been doing, was held accountable in a difficult and unpleasant meeting with the owner of the company. He was demoted to supervisor and had to take a substantial pay cut in the process.........
Sam's decisions started a snowball effect in the life of his family. He felt entitled to the extra money and decided to take it. He decided to stop at the bar. He chose to drink. He chose to drive after drinking. He owns the choices and consequences. All the consequences he had to deal with were a direct result of his choices.......he still blames the Manager for firing him, he blames the car owner for calling the police, he blames Pam for not getting him out of jail and abandoning him.
Pam, her children and parents are dealing with indirect consequences, collateral damage, of Sam's actions.
Continued in Part 3 - Indirect Consequences and Those They Hurt.
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