Every action has consequences:
How to make that truth work for you
Many singles go through life ignoring the truth that every action has consequences.
The Bible elaborates on this law in Galatians 6:7-9:
Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows.
Many young singles read these verses and see God as a cosmic spoilsport, an old man sitting up in heaven with a hammer, just waiting to whack anybody who gets out of line.
Not only is that false, it turns God into a cartoon character, insulting this all-loving, merciful being. For many of us, it takes crashing and burning a few times before we're ready to believe we're not as smart as we think we are.
There are two ways to learn the lessons of life: Go through trial and error on your own, experiencing the bad results, or observing and learning from the experiences of others.
What makes more sense, learning painlessly from this web site or making thoughtless choices and suffering for it for a long time?
How to predict what will happen
Once you mature enough to accept the truth that every action has consequences, you can use that law to your advantage. You can almost predict what will happen to you. That's when this law becomes not a restriction, but a path to freedom. We watch others, learn from their examples, and make choices accordingly. That's the wise way. That's the best way.
If we spend more than we earn, we can count on being mired in debt. If we save and invest our money, we can count on being prepared for financial emergencies and retirement.
Whether it's using drugs, behaving promiscuously, or breaking the law, people may seem to get away with it on occasion, but sooner or later the consequences show up.
Think back on your own life. If you misbehaved in school, you got a detention or had a talk with the principal. If you misbehave badly enough in life, you deal with the police and could even lose your freedom. Freedom is one of our most valuable possessions, and we all take it for granted. It's only when you're deprived of it that you find out what a gift it is.
It's true in physics and it's true in life. One of the laws of physics is that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. The inescapable truth in life is that every action has consequences, whether we're wise enough to recognize it or not.
Learn this now. Burn it into your consciousness. Live by it. When you learn to start thinking ahead, using your imagination as to what could happen, you'll take a lot fewer risks, make a lot fewer stupid choices.I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy drama. Understand about the cost for every decision, and you'll have a lot less drama in your life.
Every action has consequences spiritually
Thousands of years ago, God gave us his law, called the Ten Commandments. Why do we need laws? Because every action has consequences!
Break the law--whether God's law or man's law--and you'll suffer the consequences. Every country's prisons are full of people who thought they could break the law and get away with it. Now millions of people think that since God is invisible, he's not enforcing his laws. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Disobeying God is sin. God hates sin because it damages our relationship with him. That's why Christians need to confess and repent every day. Our salvation is assured, but we should not abuse God's grace.
Spiritually, this law is especially important to single people. The actions of reading the Bible regularly, attending church, praying, giving to God's work and helping others will result in wisdom, confidence, and peace of mind. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, the result is that you will receive eternal life.
God sends no one to hell. People send themselves there by rejecting Christ. Nobody really gets away with anything, even if it seems that way. Just as every action has consequences in this life, so there are consequences for the next life. If disobedience is not punished here, it will be after death. Hell is a real place. People who reject Christ's offer of salvation go there.
This law of consequences is as sure as the rising and setting of the sun, but once you grasp it, you're well on the way to a happier, more predictable life. You learn to avoid the things that bring bad consequences and do the things that bring good consequences.
Bad decisions bring trouble. Good decisions bring peace.
What you do matters. What an empowering thing to know!
