Compassion in Consequence

"And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made."  Exodus 32:35

Compassion in Consequence
By Rev. William Dohle

The family gathered around in a circle, holding hands.  Their husband, father, grandfather had just suffered a massive heart attack.  Chances of him surviving the night were rare.  As we gathered in a circle to pray, a brother called out a question...

"Why did this happen, doc?  What caused this?"

The doctor took a swig of his ice tea drink.  "Too many McDonald's hamburgers, that's what."  The family muttered amongst themselves.  "No," he said.  "Seriously, the plaque in his arteries was caused by eating too many fatty foods."

This might sound extremely insensitive on the doctor's part.  It did when I heard it.  I wondered how someone could be so uncaring to a family's needs in a time like that.

Problem is, though, that he's right.  It's true.  Heart attacks are caused by plaque and plaque is caused by too much fatty food.

In other words...
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
It's called Newton's Third Law of motion.  Basically stated...

The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object. The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object. Forces always come in pairs - equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs. (From a website here)

We like to think that this isn't true.  That our actions have no consequences.  We like to think that we act in something of a vaccum, where what we do has no physical, psychological, or spiritual consequences.

Problem is... we're wrong.  Every action has a reaction or a consequence to it.  No exceptions...

Consider what consequences look like across the spectrum.

• Physically speaking... you smoke for 50 years.  From age 20 on...and at 70 years old discover you have emphysema.  Is this disease a punishment?  No.  It's the consequence of your behavior.  It's the reaction to the action of your addiction.

• Psychologically speaking... You bury yourself in entertainment, anything to stop thinking about what's on your mind, when someone comes into your life you really wanting a real interaction with.  Problem is... you have nothing to offer them because your life has been consumed by that one thing...escape!

• Spiritually speaking... You think that you have plenty of time to get to church.  Nothing is rushing you to find some faith community.  So every Sunday you get into the habit of doing nothing about the emptiness inside...until your father dies and you realize that you have nothing and no one to turn to.

The list goes on and on.  All of them are consequences.  Not punishments.  Every one was a reaction to an action.  A Newton's Third Law of Motion sort of thing.

These consequences extend into Scripture too, though there the people attributed them more to God's punishment or God's wrath than to natural consequences.

For instance, after the golden calf incident, where the people of Israel worship something other than God, we read: "And the Lord struck the people of Israel with a plague because of what they did with the calf..."

Was this a punishment?  Maybe.  In seen in one light it certainly was.  But I think this was more of a consequence for their behavior.  A natural reaction to idolatry.  If you decide to worship something other than God...a plague of sorts will come upon you.

Paul says it like this:

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:7-8)  We see this law true in life as well.  All around us, people are plagued by things that come as a consequence of worshiping something other than God.  We might even find ourselves trapped in these consequences.

The Good News, though, comes afterward.  In Exodus it peeks out after the plague has struck.  For there we see that God doesn't abandon his people because of their sin.  Nor does he leave them alone in their consequence, but he stays by them the whole way.

"Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...I will send an angel before you..."(Ex. 33:1)

Later God says...

"My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Ex. 33:14)

God never leaves because of what we do.  God never abandons us to our fate or to the consequences of our behavior.  We might act ourselves into a ditch.  We might do terrible things and find ourselves paying for them for the rest of our lives...but God will never abandon us.  Nor will he leave us.  But God, our God, will always be with us.

I knew a 70 year old woman, dying of ephasema, say this.  "I know why I'm dying.  I smoked all my life.  But I also know that God hasn't left me either."

That promise is for you, for your children, and for your children's children, no matter what reactions you or they or anyone are suffering.

God, on the cross Jesus took the eternal reactions for our sins, leaving us with the temporal ones.  Give us strength to deal with the consequences of our behavior, knowing that you are always with us, forgiving and strengthening us.  Amen.