Facing Our Consequences

Facing Our Consequences

4/21/12

All humans make a choice everyday to embrace the tasks that we have set out to complete.  Some of these tasks are of a noble standard and others tend to be on the risky side of things.  It does not matter what the category these fit into, it is still our choice in making these decisions.  Once we make these decisions and our tasks are made public, we then set ourselves up for the active consequences that others will attest to in the same public realm.  Be smart, be safe and do what is God authorizes and all things will come to pass without hail in your forecast.

Along our daily journey through this game called life we constantly are bombarded with decisions that we have to make.  It really does not matter what area we are discussing at some part of our day we have to make these decisions and then face all of the positive and negative consequences of these decisions.  We would like to believe that all our decisions are of a good nature and that we will receive only praise as a return for these decisions, but as we all know not everyone sees things in the same manner as we do and the true results many times come to us in the form of his against ourselves.  Let’s face it, as humans we all do stupid things.  That situation is something that we cannot ignore or say that we have never done or never will do in fact I guess it must be one of our jobs that we have to do to be considered a human, it is so popular of a thing to do. J

From the beginning of this message I wish to address an issue that may come up.  I want to say that this message is directed to no one in particular yet it is directed to everyone in the world.  ALL of us have fallen into this category at one time or another in our lives.  The truth in situations sometimes hurts and is not pretty, but this is a topic that I actually had started a while back and God is now finishing the message.  Take heed to the words of the message and restore ourselves to the one and only true God. 

The personal example I am going to give you is just that, a personal one so please do not draw any conclusions to the subject, just read it and understand all that God is trying to say.  Some of you may know that I was married before.  It was a time in my life that I was in control of everything that occurred in my world and no one was going to tell me any differently.  I was not a mean or hateful about things it was just the fact that it was going to be my way on all decisions and here were not going to be any questions otherwise. 

My marriage was a tough one in which it only lasted a bit over three years.  The marriage provided me with a beautiful daughter that to this day continues to bless my life.  A few other minor odds and ends and that were about all of what the union produced.  I am not going to go into details now but as you can all guess the marriage did not work out and it’s life died a horrible death a short time after it began.  This was a decision that at the time I believed was the best for my life and is an example of a bad decision on my part, but it could not all be bad since I have a daughter who I love tremendously.

After the marriage ended I felt like I had completed the worst thing in my life and also felt that I had violated every sacred act towards a relationship.  I moved to Delta and began my life over once again.  I knew that I was going to face some questions regarding my actions and I also knew that I would not stand in the same “platform” as others that I would encounter.  I had known that what I had just completed went against everything that my parents had taught me and what my church stood for.  I knew that I was going to be placed into a category that would isolate me in many areas of the life I knew.

I knew my parents were placed into a peculiar setting while my life fell apart and I also knew the personal pain that they were experiencing due to the same circumstance in my life.  I had previously met some of the people from Delta on my trips down from Utah where I had been stationed.  It was going to be odd facing them in this manner and I knew that tongues would be wagging in some form.  I knew that I would be greeted with smiles and hugs but I could not help but wonder what their minds were thinking and the questions that they had concerning my decisions.  I did not blame them for their comments or actions; I could not blame them since it was my actions that allowed them to act in a human manner.

People that I associate with today still know that I was previously married and that is a fact that they will never forget.  It was an action of mine that caused them to have that memory burned into their minds.  It was a rough haul for a while wondering what everyone was saying about me when I “left the building” but it was a situation that I faced head-on and did not condemn them even when some of them condemned me, for I knew that some of them just might find themselves in some similar predicament in the future.  God understands the mistakes that humans do and He is willing to forgive us if we turn from our ways and restore what we lost due to our actions, but sometimes humans forget this concept of forgiveness….once again, it is a human trait.

I also remember one time that dad had to “close” a prayer chain group in one of the churches that he pastored, it is a human trait to want to know all of the juicy details of someone else’s life and it is a human trait to wish to “spread the gospel” of this newly found truth about a person.  Just plain and simple truth of things is that people are going to do it, and it does not matter if they go to church or not, it is a human thing.  Oh, and by the way this human thing that we are talking about is not just limited to western society it is present in all societies of the world.

Humans are masters about digging up our pasts and it is a great tool that we like to use when we are trying to make a point to others.  What we fail to see, or maybe we do see it and just have this attitude to harm other humans, is that Satan uses our past against us to try and inhibit our future.  If there is any way that he can withhold us from completing what God has planned for us, his job has been a success and he has accomplished a further human separation from God.  One goal that humans thrive upon is gossip or the half truth and how much information we can find out before we continue the “knowledge” tour of the general public.  All of which we are deemed to hear as time progresses.

Ok, who are we talking about that is going to find out about our actions?  Well, most everyone that you know on a personal basis will eventually hear some type of story, it may take a while for the information to filter down to them but they will learn about it.  This includes family members as well and with this lovely item called technology, some distant family members may see the muddy waters that we have stepped into as well.  This information will hurt them and it will place a strain upon the established relationships, not a division but a strain; this too is a human trait and it will come to a head.  Remember they too will go through the questions and thoughts that you face as well.

What is the next logical step that we take during this process?  We find people who will stand with us and agree with our positions and begin to throw rocks in other people’s direction as well.  This too is a normal reaction.  A while back, a local news story that came out concerning a situation with tattoos and how a lady did not like them which was her own opinion about tattoos and bluntly stated her beliefs on this on a social network.  Shortly afterwards another lady wrote a response that was not bad in content giving her own opinion about the subject. 

A few more comments filled the list and both sides of the tattoo issue were presented.  One of the last posts was from a woman who was furious with the fact that someone had a bad opinion about tattoos and even offered to hunt the woman down.  When I read this I was curious if this lady was serious about her comment, so I did the next thing that a Bishop would do….I wrote her in a private note and asked.  I really did not expect a response back from her but I threw the question out and waited to see what would happen and to my expectations no response came.  What I am saying is that people will state their opinions and their words in public on whatever topic they see fit, so it is our duty as humans to try and keep this sort of activity from not happening.

We find comfort in these friends that stand with us, but what justice do they do in our lives?  Do they continue to fuel the flames of chatter and finger pointing?  Do they defend you till the end?  Do they fling insults towards others in response to the objecting opinions?  Do they honestly understand what you are going through?  These are questions that come quickly to mind to others that read other concerning friends comments. And do these friends actually help in our healing process or do they justify our actions so that we can continue our current beliefs?

Remember the game that some of us played where you sit in a circle with a group of people and one person starts at a particular person and whispers something in their ear.  The person then turns to the person beside them and whispers what they believe that the first person said to them.  The process continues until the last person receives the whispered statement.  Then that person says what they believed they heard out loud.  Sometimes the information said was close but other times it was way off base.  This same concept happens when humans get involved in the chatting series through friends.  Generally we accept the fact that the people that are hearing about our troubles are filtering this information towards us, but how many times have we, the ones who have been scorned, performed the same tactics towards others while receiving this verbiage.

God understands that when we do things that cause us shame we will face scrutiny over that decision.  He can protect us so much but the ultimate responsibility is ours to not give the enemy a chance to pounce on our lives more than what he already does.  Take my word for it people, if you give our enemy an open door guess who is going to walk through it.  It does not take much to figure this out, but if you choose to open this door, you must remember that the consequences will catch up to you sooner or later.  Ok, I believe I have covered the bases for the basis of this message.

We should keep something else in mind.  Our actions that we have just completed, or are in the process of completing might just be a sample of something our lineage has previously ingrained into our being.  This is not an excuse for the act but it something that we need to really examine about our life and do our best to prevent this type of activity in our children.  You now cannot say that it will not have an effect on them, because it has just had an effect on you, and you were a child once.  Oh, and remember something else once something is passed down the line, we as humans have a tendency to repeating a similar action but we usually take it to another level, which should be ever more the reason to break this line at the present time.

It is God’s true desire that none of His children face any ridicule about things concerning their lives.  However He cannot and will not control our actions in any way, shape, or form.  He has given humans the means to make choices for themselves in every situation.  God does see our actions and He is aware of every event that occurs in our lives.  God also understands the path that we take and He understands the reasoning that we have for making this choice.  God has a message for each of you that have found yourselves involved in situations like these and many others similar to them.  It is a message of repentance and restoration.  It is not an easy task but it is a process that is life changing in every aspect of our lives.

Repentance is the beginning of restoration in which it places God back in control of your life and realigns our spiritual life back into communication with God.  Repentance also brings tells God that we give all of our problems to Him and that we will listen to what He has to say over our lives.  Repentance opens our spiritual eyes to what we have allowed into our lives and how it has not only separated us from God but also from the physical reality that we have pursued to alienate our personal relationships; it does not matter what the situation is these acts of separation complete these steps that isolate us from others.  Repentance is the only positive step that we can make to begin the correction process.  For when we truly repent, we voluntarily give up our rights and hand them to God.

Even after the repentance and restoration processes have taken hold, there will still be times down the road where your actions will be questioned.  This is not a time of panic but it is a time of rejoicing since you can honestly say that you have defeated those issues and are allowing God to continue to show you His light concerning those subjects.  Not everyone will agree with you, and some might even doubt your commitment to God, but this is ok and should be taken in stride.  However, it also serves as a reminder of the things that had infiltrated your life and how it is important to teach others not to follow in the same fashion.

It is God’s desire to break this lineage in your life but in order for Him to complete this task you must turn your life completely over to Him and allow Him to restore you in the manner that He desires for your life.  This means giving up your “rights” to God and following His guidance in every way known to humans.  It is a tough process but a life changing experience that only one who has gone through it can understand.  It is an individual process none like it to any other person, but it establishes and builds a relationship with God that infiltrates your inner spirit and allows to you to be free once again.

DLB