Consequences part 2
I've said for a long, long time that I believe God is too much of a gentleman to force His will on us. And, I mean, on the cross God did what He was going to do. He drew us all into Himself and planted Himself into all of us. We had no say in that matter. The second death--the death OF death on the cross--and the new birth three days later were God's gift to us. God's expression of love to us. But, for the most part, I believe God will let us do what we're of a mind to do. Look at Acts 7:42 in the Message Bible, "God wasn't at all pleased; but he let them do it their way, worship every new god that came down the pike--and live with the consequences, consequences described by the prophet Amos: Did you bring me offerings of animals and grains those forty wilderness years, O Israel?" Did you catch that? God wasn't happy about it... but He didn't punish them. He didn't even stop them. He let them do it their way, and live with the consequences. And I think the best part of that verse is that the prophet Amos described the consequences beforehand. He laid out what would happen. I think God is very much into informed consent. He tells people what He's going to do... and then He does it. Tells people what is going to happen... and then it happens. He gives warnings, but He doesn't force people to do what He says. Let me say it another way. Speaking of love in 1 Corinthians 13:5 in the MSG, "Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others." Love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love doesn't manipulate and control. If its manipulation and control... its not love. Period. And while love only wants the best for us... where the Spirit of the Lord is (where the Spirit of love is) there is liberty. Freedom. And I always describe freedom as freedom FROM sin and freedom TO love. But, in truth, well, 1 Corinthians 10:23 says it better than I can, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." I can do whatever I want. But that doesn't mean I SHOULD. Because actions have consequences. Every action has an equal and opposite (or magnified) reation. No man is an island. Nothing happens in a vaccuum. Butterfly effect, right? A butterfly flaps its wings and because of that halfway across the world there's a tornado. That tiny gust of wind becomes something huge. A tiny stone in a body of water can cause a huge ripple. So I guess what I'm trying to say today--and in this entire Rant series--is count the cost. Make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. Because what you do matters. And if you're waiting for God to stop you... I don't necessarily think He physically will. I think He'll speak in a still, small voice and tell you what love is all about... but at the end of the day you're gonna do what you're gonna do. And you're going to have to face the consequences. So let me end with this: Consequences aren't necessarily bad. They can be good. But you reap what you sow, in a sense. What you plant is what you will harvest. You can plant love and harvest love. That's a great consequences. Or you ignore the warnings and do things that will hurt instead of help. You can do whatever you want. But that doesn't mean you should.