Lessons

Today I finshed the final edit of my book. Hurrah!

I will send it to a couple of publishing agents for review on Saturday. I’ve included an excerpt from the book below that discusses among other things the suicide of my brother and the troubling issue of bad things happening to good people. This is from the last chapter, the lessons learned chapter. It is rather lengthy, but you might find it a good read…

“I now realize that exhilarating triumphs and agonizing defeats are an integral part of everyday life, and every human being on this planet ultimately will get a taste of both. To be sure God punishes sin and I’d experienced that phenomenon first hand, but I’d also learned that undergoing hard times should not always be interpreted as being some form of retaliatory punishment exacted upon me by an angry God.

At the time of my brother’s death I was as close to God as I’d ever been. I was attending church every Sunday, and I was studying my Bible daily, and in fact began each day by writing my daily devotional, Words for the Day. I was praying throughout the day, and I was encouraging others to become Christians at every opportunity. I had tremendous faith in God and loved Him with all of my heart.

So the question loomed, why did the Lord allow this to happen to me?

The answer that I came up with is that “I” am not the center of the universe and not everything that happens in this world is directly related to me. God’s purpose for allowing bad things to happen is often known only to God. Sometimes bad things affect many people, including innocent bystanders.

I believe that Jim’s unhappiness was a direct consequence of his drifting away from God and directly towards his dark side and sin. Did God punish Jim for drifting away from Him? Does God sit up in heaven with a big fly swatter just waiting for someone to get out of line whereby he can swat them one?

It seems to me that consequence is an incontrovertible result of sin. Sin is the cause and consequence is the effect. Once sin is set in motion consequence is always the result. For example if I throw a rock at a window it will shatter the glass upon impact. I might regret throwing the rock the instant that it leaves my hand, but once it’s set in motion all the regret in the world won’t prevent it from continuing on to shatter the glass.

Similarly I might regret committing a grievous sin the moment after I commit it, but unfortunately the sin has already been set in motion and along with it the consequence of it shattering my life. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s an irrefutable unseen axiom that consequence cannot and will not be denied.

Can anyone reasonably deny that there will be life shattering consequences for murder, stealing, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, adultery and the like? The consequence might be strikingly severe like prison, divorce, venereal disease, getting fired, bankruptcy, debilitating sickness, dying from AIDS or driving drunk, or OD’ing, or being shot by a jealous husband. Then there are an entire litany of more subtle consequences such as unhappiness, guilt, loneliness, misery, despair, and sadness. Make no mistake there are no free rides when it comes to sin. There is always a consequence.

I wondered if God’s word, the Holy Bible, was actually some sort of spiritual owner’s manual designed to spare us from the consequences of sin. I thought of an automobile owner’s manual that details what should be done in order to ensure maximum performance and extended life for that vehicle. If the manufacturer’s recommendations are followed and things like changing the oil every 5000 miles, tire rotation, changing filters, etc. are followed to the letter then it will enhance performance and extend the life of my car.

Could God, our Creator, have given us the Bible in order to ensure that we might enjoy maximum performance in our lives? Does His owner’s manual tell us not to commit murder, lie, steal, commit adultery, cheat, covet, lust, curse our Creator, etc. in order that we might avoid those things that will harm us and instead that we do those things that will enable us to enjoy life to its fullest? Are all of the commands in the Bible designed to help us be all we can be in this life and the next?

It seemed logical to me that if God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for our sins, that He would also provide us with a set of guidelines, that if followed would give us peace and happiness in this life and the next. I believe the Bible contains those guidelines.

John 3:16

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.