There is an inescapable law at work in the universe known as the law of cause and effect. Every effect has a cause, and conversely, every cause produces an effect. Some effects are easy to predict. Place your hand into a fire, and you will get burned; drop a ceramic mug on concrete, and it will shatter. Other effects are more subtle and harder to spot because they accumulate over time, like what happens inside your cells when you eat chocolate cake, or the damage done to your liver when you drink alcohol.
This law is important to understand because your life is a series of causes and effects. Your choices in life cause things to happen. In general, good choices lead to good outcomes, poor choices lead to bad ones. For example, if you choose to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly, you are likely to see great benefits to your health. If you choose to smoke, drink, overeat, and live a sedentary life, your body will suffer as a result.
My point is, your choices generate causes, and whether the results are immediate or delayed, every cause has an effect. There’s no getting around it.
Three words.
The law of cause and effect may seem obvious, but it’s something that has to be taught. Children need to learn it early on, and if they don’t, they pay dearly for it later in life. As soon as our daughter was old enough to understand, my wife and I used three words to teach her about this law: Actions have consequences.
It’s up to you to demonstrate this. When you tell your child that if they do (a) that you will do (b), you must follow through with (b). If you don’t, you’ll wind up with a child that has no respect for you, and who will wrongly think they can disregard authority without repercussions. If you let that happen, they will learn the hard way that actions have consequences.
The consequences of sin.
The original sin, Adam and Eve’s decision to rebel against God in the Garden of Eden, was a choice that had grave consequences. It brought a curse that still affects all of creation to this day:
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Romans 5:12
The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.
Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.
Isiah 24:4-6
We all suffer because of that original sin. Then we compound the problem because we are all sinners ourselves. There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10 / Psalm 53:3). Our own sin has consequences. It negatively affects us and those around us, whether we realize it or not.
In Romans:6 we learn about the ultimate consequence of sin. The wages of sin is death. Here death refers to an eternal separation from God. It means to be cut off, forever, from Goodness, Light, Justice, Mercy, Love … all that God is.
A way out.
If the law of cause and effect is certain, and sin leads to death, and all have sinned, then what hope is there? Can you escape the consequences of your sin? Can you cheat death? No. Not in and of yourself. But God, in His mercy, provided a miracle. He came to Earth in human flesh and died in your place. Jesus took the consequences of your sin upon Himself. Your debt has been paid. You are free! All you have to do is accept His free gift.
Cause and effect: Sin leads to death, separation from God; Jesus leads to life and a restored relationship with God!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Acts 16:31
If you are not a Christian, choose today to accept Christ as your Savior. If you are a Christian, choose to seek after Him more fervently. Both choices will have a positive effect on your life.
