Consequences

When eight men took only eleven minutes to steal a shipment of diamonds from a plane at an airport in Brussels —the hub of the international gem trade—law enforcement officials were incredulous. The heist seemed to be meticulously planned and expertly carried out, and the crooks got away with $50 million worth of diamonds. But the thieves had a problem: how in the world were they going to get rid of $50 million worth of diamonds? And that’s where they came unglued. Their attempts to unload the gems in Geneva were as ham-fisted as their theft was flawless.

It was one thing to commit the crime, but getting away with it was another story.* Numbers 32:23 speaks to this when it says, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” It’s one thing to tell a lie, but a lie told usually requires more lies to cover up the original lie.

It’s one thing to lose your temper or cheat on a test or go out and get drunk, but there are those troubling things called consequences, and they almost always have to be faced. Things done in secret have a way of eventually coming out into the open. This is not to say we should be motivated by fear of being caught.

John wrote that we love God because He first loved us, not because we’re scared of what will happen if we don’t. If more people stopped and thought, Things could turn out very badly if I make this poor decision, or Someone will get hurt if I do this thing, there would undoubtedly be less inclination to cave in to temptation and a greater likelihood of making a good decision. When temptation strikes, stop and listen.

You will hear God’s voice urging you to choose the path of right and encouraging you to surrender your will to Him. At that moment, choose to yield to the work of God in your life. Surrendering your heart to Jesus in the midst of temptation allows God to deliver you from it. Doing things God’s way never has negative consequences.