Truth or Consequence

I sometimes visualize the Bible as being similar to an owner’s manual. For best results with our lives we should do as it instructs and if we fail to do so then we will malfunction and have problems. Perhaps that is too simplistic for you, but it works for me. God in His infinite wisdom saw fit to communicate with us through the Bible and reveal His laws, which will enable us to have better lives. His desire for us is to live happy productive lives and He wants to bless us; however the degree of success we enjoy is contingent upon living our lives according to His laws.

It is a sin to break the law. The Bible teaches that there are consequences to sin. If someone throws a rock towards a window, the consequence will be a shattered window. The same is true with sin. Some sins result in shattered lives, others result in unhappy or stressed lives. I have found that the closer I can live according to God’s laws as laid out in the Bible, the happier and less stressed I am.

It is easy to understand how major sins like adultery or murder could shatter lives, but what about ‘seemingly’ minor sins? One example of what most of us would consider being a rather minor and insignificant sin that many of us are guilty of at some point would be worry. Jesus stated that it is a sin to worry. We should trust in the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind. To worry is not trusting completely and is in fact a de facto statement that one does not trust God enough to help them through whatever crisis they face. To an all powerful loving God who loved us enough to send His Son to die for our sins, this lack of trust must feel like a slap in the face.

What are some of the consequences of worry? Worry can depress us and it leads to stress. Both of these can be very detrimental to our health and can adversely affect our attitude which affects our relationship with others including our spouse, family, and/or friends. Worry is absolutely a complete waste of time as it serves no useful purpose and will solve not one problem, yet nearly all of us are guilty of it at some point in our lives. Worry a ‘seemingly’ insignificant sin could result in serious consequences and shattered lives. An extreme example if worry were allowed to go too far might be suicide.

I urge you to read and study the Bible. Maybe you could do as I do and look at The Bible as an owner’s manual written by God, the Manufacturer, (and Owner) of all creation. God has carefully laid out for us what we need to do with our lives to lead successful, happy, productive lives and when we live that kind of life according to His laws we are always richly blessed by Him and achieve that peace’ that is sought after by every human on this planet aside from all but the most depraved. Unfortunately most people do not ever read the owner’s manual for anything and the same holds true for the Bible. God and His faithful servants went through a tremendous amount of trouble to write the Bible in order that we might enjoy its benefits. I urge you to start regularly studying it and reaping those benefits…

Psalm 37:3

Trust in the Lord, and do good…