but there are consequences...

march 14, 2009
temptation begins in your mind which then results in action. it starts in your imagination. the battle starts with your thoughts. it then moves from your thoughts into actions

james 1.14 & 15 (nlt), temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. these desires give birth to sinful actions…

the devil gets your attention then he gets you to have an attitude then he gets you to commit the action. people say, "what's the danger in a harmless fantasy?" what starts in your mind eventually comes out in your life. it always begins in the imagination.

what you flirt with, you will fall for. that's the whole purpose behind television advertising. they try to get you to imagine something. they know if they get it in your imagination, they've got you. if that didn't work nobody would advertise. you think you haven't done anything but you have.

and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. that's the tragic consequences of giving in – devastating results.

what's death? the exact opposite of living. if you overcome temptation you get the crown of life but the wages of sin is death – spiritual separation from GOD.

james says we are free to choose any way we want to live. i can choose any way i want to live but i am not free to choose the consequences of the choice. i am free to have my kicks but i am not free to eliminate the kickbacks. i am free to make choices but i am not free to choose the consequences.

now this is a very important principle in life. if i eat my dunkin donuts i will not lose weight. but i’m a good person. i pet dogs. i play with my granddaughter. i go to church, i pay tithe but if i eat too many donuts i will not lose weight. there is a consequence to my actions.

if i worry all the time there are so many consequences. there are sicknesses that are attached to worry. no sleep at night. it hurts my relationships because it makes people feel depressed when they are around me and discouraged about their life and they don’t want to be around me.

it is so important to understand this principle of cause and effect. if i don’t teach it to my kids and if i keep bailing them out all of the time, just like the government is doing right now, then they will do what they want to and not learn that there are consequences to their actions and then they will have major problems in life.

husband, you may love to spend all of your time in front of the tv watching what you want to watch but there will be consequences in the relationships around you, your wife and kids, and you may wake up one day and find yourself all alone and not understand why.

just some thoughts from the front porch…