Actions And Consequences

God is a genius. He doesn't punish sin. The natural consequences of our actions, whether directly or indirectly, is our punishment. For example: A husband commits adultery where the wife has proof that she uses in court to divorce him. He loses his marriage, destroys her life, his kids' lives, takes a huge financial hit. If she's married it will destroy her marriage, her kids' lives. God doesn't need to punish in that situation. The natural consequences of their actions serves as the punishment.

Cleaning The Wound

All of us have experienced past emotional hurts, but victims of abuse are presented with the toughest challenge on their road to recovery. Oftentimes, they only partially heal, or don't heal at all, because they don't properly treat the wound.

Because of the guilt and shame involved in all kinds of abuse, they'll only share most of their experiences, most of their thoughts and feelings with their counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, parents, or friends. After all, not only did they have to endure the humiliation of the abuse itself, now they have to endure the humiliation of asking for help, and the humiliation of sharing their experiences with someone to help them get over it. For victims of abuse, telling 99% of the truth is their way of exerting some power over what happened to them. To tell 100% of the truth of what happened in the past and how they feel about it means to be 100% vulnerable, and most of us don't like to be 1% vulnerable, nevermind 100%.

But they have to be in order to successfully treat their wound. Doctors and nurses will tell you that even if a wound is 99% clean, the 1% that's still infected can grow and reinfect the rest of the wound.

The Enemy wants us to feel that shame, that guilt, so we will hold onto that 1% of out past hurts. The Enemy knows, over time, that 1% will spread and begin infecting other areas of our lives. Those with past hurts need to seek out help and be 100% open and honest about what caused the wound, and their thoughts about what happened. It's the only way to be 100% healed.

A Simple Test

Sometimes we'll meet someone who we're interest in dating. Maybe we even start dating them but, after a period of time, they begin to act in ways we dislike. They become too possessive, too distant, too suspicious of you, you too suspicious of them. This proves not to be just an isolated incident, but a pattern of behavior.

Because they're otherwise good people, their good points outweighing the bad behaviors that are causing us to be cautious, we become confused. Should we start, or stay, in the relationship?

There's an easy way to know. What if your son or daughter came to you and explained a similar story to you? As a parent, would you let your son or daughter date that person? If not, you don't need to be dating them either.

The Game Of Life

Life is a gift given to us by our Creator. Like all gifts, we can do with it as we please. If we regrettably choose to waste it, unfortunately, that's our decision.

For those who choose to appreciate it and make the most of it, we can't show our gratitude by trying to give back to our Creator. After all, He's the owner of everything. It would be like trying to give Donald Trump a hundred dollars as a thank-you for the million he just gave you. Trump, instead, would want you to give that hundred to someone who truly needed it.

If we want to show our Creator appreciation for our lives, He asks us to appreciate other people. The best way to say thank you for our gift is not thanking Him, but by being the very best friend, spouse, sibling, employee, stranger-on-the-street you can be. And, by helping those in need, especially children.