By Pastor Brittany

With each verse in Proverbs 11, I was reminded of something my parents taught me: there is always a consequence to your action. That doesn’t necessarily mean the consequence is a bad one, maybe the better word is result. There is always a result to your particular action or decision and the result will ALWAYS come. It may appear as a punishment for speeding in your neighborhood and having a family friend call your dad before you ever get in the door. It may come as a stern warning from your boss because you chose to stay up late watching “Lost” at your friend’s house after church instead of going home and going to bed like a responsible adult. It may come as an old friend from high school seeking you out on Facebook simply to ask you to pray because she remembered a time more than 10 years ago in school when you were willing to stop in the middle of the hall during class change and pray with her because she was in desperate need. It may come as a lovely bonus check because when your company downsized, you were willing to put in extra hours and pick up slack without complaint. The result always comes… eventually. It’s cause and effect.

Cause and effect is the philosophical concept of causality. Causality is defined as the relation between an event (the cause) and a second event (the effect), where the first event is understood to be responsible for the second. This concept is present in every area of life. In relationships, when we choose to or not to treat others the way we should. In our job, when we choose to work hard or choose to slack. In our finances when we choose to budget or when we choose to give or pay our tithes. The list goes on and on.

Nowhere do we see the biggest cause and effect concept brought to reality more than our relationship with the Lord. Verse 19 says, “Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death.” The choices we make in other areas of life are often affected by the single most important decision we can make… to follow God or not. When we choose to make Him Lord of our life, when we choose to make all those other decisions bring glory to Him, when we place Him as the utmost priority and focus of our life, we attain LIFE. The rewards of having a relationship with Him are great on this earth when we experience strength, joy, peace, and so many other things He brings, but none can compare to the ultimate “effect” of eternity in Heaven with Him if we choose to make Him Lord and honor Him with our life. I can’t wait.