Monthly Archives: May 2019

“NO IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES?”

On May 4, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


Some of my friends got together for a breakfast the other day.  One of the guys asked a very provocative question: “If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?”

Some said one thing.  Some said another.  I said, “I don’t know.”

The most interesting response was from Brian, who said, “I would make the consequences of all actions immediate.”

I thought this was interesting at the time.  The more I’ve thought about it, the more interesting it has become.

But who says that it isn’t already so?  Don’t our actions have immediate consequences?

No, in fact the Bible itself seems to acknowledge this reality of deferred consequences, and its problematic nature.  For example, Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil” (English Standard Version).  However, Ecclesiastes is a pretty cynical book, and needs to be read and quoted with great care.  (In fact, I encourage people not to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance or the book of Ecclesiastes when they are already mildly depressed.)

On the other hand, I wonder if, in the most profound sense, the most serious consequences of all actions are not immediate.  Or, at least, the consequences follow very quickly on the heels of our actions.  I overeat, and it doesn’t take very long at all before I feel too full, guilty, and sluggish.  I speak unkindly to my wife, and regret that I have hurt her.

However, there is a problem: If I do not swiftly heed my immediate consequences, it doesn’t take long before I am not able to take heed to those immediate consequences.  Before long, I persuade myself that there aren’t any immediate consequences.

Why?  I suspect that the answer is this: One of the first consequences of every wrong action is that our conscience is numbed.  The Bible also acknowledges this.  For example, Hebrews 3:13 says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (English Standard Version)

Hardened by the deceitfulness of sin!  Yes, I’m afraid that I have way too much experience with that.  You?

Sin is a lot like certain deadly viruses and cancers.  Like those viruses and cancers, the first thing that happens is that sin turns off our immune system.

Or, to change the analogy, like a burglar, sin first turns off the alarm system.  Then, sin steals our joy, good relationships, peace, and self-respect.  Soon, we are an empty and haunted house.

Well, this is a cheery thought on an overcast day, isn’t it?!  Is there any hope?  How about a little sunshine?  I am glad that you asked!

According to the New Testament and classic Christian theology, Jesus Christ died for all our sins and their consequences.  He took the whole tangled mess that is us upon himself.  And that mess that is us killed him.

However, rumor has it that he didn’t stay dead.  And when he came out of the tomb, according to the New Testament, we came out with him.

And so did our innocence.

And after his resurrection, Jesus, along with God the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to live in us.  We now have the Holy Spirit living in us.  And the Holy Spirit doesn’t put up with any crap from us.  The power of immediate consequences is one of the gifts that God gives us through his Holy Spirit.

And we should thank God every day for the gift of immediate consequences.

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“Bait or Poison?”

On May 3, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


A good friend of mine is struggling with an invasion of ants.  This is not unusual this time of years.  She and her husband have put out lots of ant bait, but it is taking a while for all the ants to get the message that they are not welcome.

She wasn’t sure if the “bait” was working or not.  I commented that it takes some time.  And then I added, “They call it bait, but it’s really poison!”

Immediately, my mind went to James 1:12-15.

“12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (English Standard Version)

Apparently, people in James’ day (about two thousand years ago) were prone to blaming God for their evil.  Imagine that!  I’m sure glad that we don’t do that these days!

James is very mathematical at this point;

Desire                                     Sin                                             Death    

And it’s something we do to ourselves.

Of course, we wouldn’t (hopefully) do this on purpose.  We don’t necessarily start out desiring our own death.

And, of course, not all desires are wrong.  But when we indulge wrong desires, or even right desires excessively, we set the chain in motion.  Like the ants in my friend’s house, if we take the bait, we have taken the poison.  We can call it bait, but it’s still poison.

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“The Illusion of Inevitability”

On May 2, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


In almost every area of our lives, inevitability is an illusion.  But it’s a very popular and widespread illusion, so it is difficult to recognize that it is an illusion.

It operates in the good areas of our lives.  I love and am happy with my wife, so I speak of “forever,” even though I know that one of us is likely to die before the other, and that it is quite possible that we will both die eventually.

I think that it is inevitable that I’m going to continue playing softball (in the senior league) until I’m eighty.  In reality, I don’t know if I’ll be playing when I’m sixty-nine.  (I’m sixty-eight, and our first game today was rained out.  I was happy.  This does not bode well for my illusion of inevitability, even at the age of sixty-eight.)

On and on it goes.  About the only thing that is truly inevitable is change.  And I don’t particularly like change.

The illusion of inevitability also operates in the bad areas of our lives.  I want to waste time that I don’t have on projects that don’t matter.  Eventually, I talk myself into it.  Wasting time becomes inevitable, even though it really isn’t.

There are still some Girl Scout Tagalong cookies left.  It becomes inevitable that I will open the box, and have “just one!”  One cookie becomes one row, then the whole box.

Once I’ve convinced myself that something is inevitable, I can do it with a not-too-bad conscience.  Why?  Because I had bought into the lie of inevitability.

We all have illusions.  The key is not to allow the illusions to have us.

The first step in vaporizing any illusion is recognizing it for what it is—an illusion.

And the second step?  Ignoring it, and doing the next right thing.  Ignoring reality is insanity.  Ignoring illusions is another way of speaking of sanity.

I think I’ll live in reality today.  It isn’t easy, but it’s a whole lot easier than buying into the illusion of inevitability.

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“Of Cover Ups and Mercy”

On May 1, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, English Standard Version)

“You’re only as sick as your secrets.”  (Twelve-step saying)

I want to live a H.O.T. life: Honest, Open, and Transparent.  Sad to say, I don’t always.  I think I’ve opened up to those who need to know about my big struggles.  However, not so much on little things.  At least, I want to think they are little things.  And, in any case, little hidden transgressions have the same tendency as termites and cancer: They eat away at us from their places of concealment.

And let’s face it.  This world is not really geared for honesty, openness, and transparency.  Neither is any of us.  We play at hide and seek when we’re young.  As we get older, it’s not a game anymore.  We work at hiding—and hope that no one finds us.

In Proverbs 28:13, the Hebrew words translated “confesses” and “forsakes” are participles.  Participles are verbal nouns. In other words, they are a cross between nouns and verbs.  In Hebrew, when participles have a verbal thrust, they often suggest repetitive action that flows from the very character of a person.  They often suggest a continual or repetitive action.

If this is true of the participles in Proverbs 28:13, the verse could be unpacked in the following manner:

“Whoever makes a habit of concealing his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who makes a habit of confessing and forsaking them will obtain mercy.”

Now, we are really good at confessing the wrong-doings of other people.  However, Proverbs 17:9 says that this is precisely what we ought not to do.  In fact, the same words are used for concealing transgression as in 28:13!

The word for “forsaking” is a strong word.  It is used in Genesis 2:24 for a man forsaking his father and mother to marry his wife.  It is also used of divorcing a wife.  Sometimes, we think that it is enough to confess our sins.  It isn’t.  We need to forsake them.

And, as much as I would like to believe it—and as much as you would like to hear it—this is not a one shot deal.  When people come to faith in Christ, that is only the beginning.  That’s when the real battle begins.

We tend to think that mercy is about God’s kind treatment of us when we’ve messed up.  That’s true.  But there is another, harder truth: Mercy is also given to those who confess and forsake their transgressions.

I’m not saying that living a HOT life is easy.  However, honesty, openness, and transparency set us up to receive mercy.  And that is hot!

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