One of the things I love about doing the right thing is that it’s not stressful. There’s no second guessing, you don’t question if that right thing is going to have terrible consequences later. You’re free.
Doing the wrong thing, well… that’s a whole different story. You never quite know when/how it’ll catch up with you.
Seasonal Pleasure
Playing With Fire outlined one of the reasons for the break up and my attitude towards it. But it would be wrong to pin it all on sex. Nevertheless, it is one example of the many wrong decisions that I contributed to.
In Hebrews 11:25, Moses is commended for choosing to “suffer affliction” rather than “enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” He valued doing what was right more than doing what was comfortable. And that’s precisely the mindset I didn’t have. I was so preoccupied with short-term gratification that I neglected to think of the long-term implications. For example, I wilfully dismantled my relationship with Christ by perpetuating a desire to continue with masturbation and pornography. This was done irrespective of it potentially impacting future sexual intimacy with my husband. But of course, I wasn’t thinking about that at all, was I? Temptation has a remarkable ability to blind, or numb you to the future consequences of your sin.
Whilst you’re consumed by your desire, you’re oblivious to the cost. Make no mistake: you will pay.
Unforeseen Consequences
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)
I appreciate that this verse is emphasising the importance of focusing on now/today. However, if you incorrectly handle today’s trouble, you are inadvertently adding to tomorrow’s trouble. Since ‘tomorrow’ is challenging enough, why are you adding more to it? In other words, if you don’t sin today, you won’t have to deal with the consequences tomorrow/later. There are already other things for you to deal with.
I’ve been studying Abraham lately and the following verses were of interest:
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.” (Genesis 16:1-2)
“So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.” (Genesis 16:4)
“And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.” (Genesis 21:1-2)
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.” (Genesis 21:9)
Life was fine before Sarah decided to re-purpose Hagar as a baby-making machine. I’m not entirely sure how she envisaged her relationship with Hagar to be post-conception, but she doesn’t seem to have factored in:
- Hagar’s perceived superiority
- The Lord providing the true heir (as promised)
- Ishmael’s jealousy
She wouldn’t have needed to deal with points 1 and 3 had she not taken it upon herself to do what God had already promised. In this instance, the repercussions of Ishmael’s (unnecessary) birth are still being felt today. I strongly believe that if she could have withdrawn her suggestion, she would have.
You can’t undo things; you can only deal with the consequences.
Lessons Learned
“My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” (Psalm 119:71, NLT)
Would I have chosen heartbreak? No!
Am I grateful for it (now)? Wholeheartedly!
Could I have avoided it? Yes!
Making the right decisions in the present, ensures that you don’t have to deal with any additional trouble ‘tomorrow’.
So…
We often make life harder than it needs to be. Do yourself a favour and strive to make decisions that that you can genuinely look back on and be proud of.
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