consequences!

1 Peter 3:12 (NIV)
"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

CONSEQUENCES!

Do we ever think of the consequences of our actions beforehand? Every act has consequences attached! As humans, we seem to get a clearer mind after the fact, after the deed is done, and we see the fall out, be it bad or good.

Some make a habit of not thinking ahead to assess every possible angle of a situation before embarking upon it. One single act could spill out in a variety of ways.

In Genesis 27, there is an account of 135 year old Isaac who wants to bless his eldest son before he dies. You also have Rebekah, his wife, who eves drops on the conversation between her husband and his eldest son, Essau. Next we have Jacob who is influenced by Rebekah to deceive his father into thinking that he is the eldest son, thereby, taking the blessing away from his brother, Essau. What a combination for sad results!

These twin boys, Jacob and Essau, struggled from the time they were in the womb together. It was already divinely decided that the younger would rule the older one. So, why would God allow the deception and lies to prevail?

God always has His purposes in view and even though He allowed the deception of Jacob to gain the blessing, there was going to be consequences as a result. God never approves of unrighteous acts to accomplish anything spiritual. Never! All of this could have been avoided, had Isaac chosen to go with what was divinely revealed from the beginning, but his own wants and desires sparked a deadly cocktail between his two sons. 

The consequences were that Essau would hate his brother for robbing him, not only once, but twice, of something that was rightfully his. He wanted to kill his brother. Their mother, Rebekah, was also responsible for putting the thought in Jacob to deceive his father. She didn't even think about the fall out of that act; had she thought twice, perhaps she would have seen how it would divide the family permanently. She would have seen that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren would never have relationships with each other.

We have other similar examples of evil acts, lies and conspiracies that ended horribly. Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Naboth and Jezebel. The list goes on and on. Some of these acts ended in someone's demise while others ended with great regrets and loss. But in every case, the person who did the evil, dastardly deed, suffered the consequences; and to think, these were the Lord's very own people acting like this!

God will use lies, deceptions, and evil to fulfill His purposes, but his judgement will be seen in the consequences upon all who were the participants. Never equate what God allows with what He approves of! He allows a lot of afflictions, hardships and pain from the hands of those whose hearts harbor evil. To the innocent, He works it for their good and His glory! 

God is not a respecter of persons! Any evil or sinful acts done by 'Unbelievers and Believers' will result in terrible consequences! None are exempt from God's judgement against unrighteousness!

Always DO THE RIGHT THING! It will always result in consequences that will make you happy, joyous, blessed, and not ashamed!

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