Excerpt from:

Checklist for Life for Graduates

Who Cares?

 

A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
—Proverbs 22:3 Nlt

Throughout high school, Kaitlyn had been a model student, with better-than-average grades and no demerits for breaking the rules. She was well-liked by her teachers and worked in her guidance counselor’s office during lunchtime. Like the other seniors, she looked forward to graduation, which was just a week away.

Stopping at her locker before her English final, Kaitlyn opened her backpack. A bottle of ibuprofen fell out—and rolled across the floor, right in front of Officer Mac, the school resource officer. Mac had no choice; picking up the bottle of painkillers, he motioned to Kaitlyn, who followed him to the guidance office. There, the vice-principal repeated the school’s zero-tolerance policy with regard to drugs. No drugs of any kind—including over-the-counter medicines—were allowed on campus unless they were to be administered by the school nurse.

Kaitlyn tried to explain: She had used her backpack over the weekend when she spent the night at a friend’s house; she just forgot to remove the ibuprofen. But zero tolerance meant zero tolerance. Kaitlyn’s parents were called, and she was forced to leave school immediately. She would not be allowed to attend graduation. She would receive her diploma after she completed her finals—over the summer.

Sound unfair? Everyone from the highest school official, to Kaitlyn’s friends, family, and teachers, to the local newspaper agreed that her punishment was unfair. It was school policy, and this was one policy that had no give in it. It was more rigid than any other policy on the books. There was no procedure Kaitlyn could use to appeal her punishment.

Actions have consequences, sometimes far more severe than anyone can anticipate or imagine. The school board did not anticipate a situation in which a student like Kaitlyn would be the first to violate—and therefore test—the zero-tolerance drug policy. Kaitlyn could not imagine being forced to sit out her high school graduation over a moment of forgetfulness.

No doubt about it, life can serve up some bitter medicine at times. Suffering the consequences of your actions may not always include swallowing medicine as bitter as Kaiilyn’s, but the punishment can still be unpleasant. Sometimes the only consequence may be losing your peace with God, but often, that’s plenty.

You already know that God is a forgiving God, rich in mercy and grace. You know that when you have messed up in any way, you can confess your error to God, ask for His forgiveness, and immediately be forgiven. His mercy and grace will be extended to you. But you still may have to face the consequences of your actions. Here’s an example of what that means. On several occasions Mike had used his father’s car without permission. To Mike, it was no big deal; he always drove responsibly and replaced the gas he used, and his father never seemed to suspect that Mike had driven the car. But on one perfectly clear day when his father had taken the train to work, Mike was driving his dad’s car to a friend’s house when another driver ran a stop sign, causing a minor wreck.

A remorseful Mike expected the worst, but after his father calmed down, he forgave his son and extended grace and mercy to him by not imposing any severe restrictions on him. But Mike still had to suffer the consequences by paying for the repair work. In addition, the insurance premiums on the car increased, and Mike had to pay for the difference between the old and new rates as well.

Had Mike heeded Proverbs 22:3, he could have avoided the consequences altogether, because he would have “[foreseen] the danger ahead and [taken] precautions”—by never driving his father’s car without permission. As you venture out into the world on your own, you will become increasingly responsible for foreseeing the danger ahead and taking precautions to avoid wrong actions that will result in unpleasant or severe consequences—like losing your peace with God and having a guilty conscience.

Increase your awareness of what the Word of God has to say about the dangers that always accompany sin. Steer clear of the painful consequences of sin by steering clear of sin itself. Life may serve up some bitter medicine, as it did with Kaitlyn, but you can avoid lots of doses of that medicine by focusing on the prevention.

I Will…

Yes   No   Understand that my actions have consequences.

Yes   No   Increase my awareness of what the Bible says about sin.

Yes   No   Learn to foresee the danger ahead.

Yes   No   Steer clear of painful consequences by steering clear of sin.

Yes   No   Realize that one of the results of sin is losing my peace with God.

Yes   No   Enjoy the pleasure of having a clear conscience.

Things to Do:

_____ Read about the consequences of sin in the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11—12.

_____ In your journal, write about a time when you had to suffer the consequences of your misguided actions.

_____ Memorize Proverbs 22:3.

_____ Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to warn you in advance of the dangers ahead.

_____ Select one of the quotations below and write about what it means to you.

_____ Make sure you understand how you can receive God’s mercy and grace and still be responsible for paying the consequences of sin.

Things to Remember:

To Adam [the LORD said], “Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.”
Genesis 3:17 NLT

 Peter said to [Simon the Sorcerer], “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither pact nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.”
Acts 8:20-21 NKJV

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NKJV

To Adam [the LORD said], “Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.”
Genesis 3:17 NLT

Peter said to [Simon the Sorcerer], “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither pact nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.”
Acts 8:20-21 NKJV

[John wrote,] Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
1 John 3:21-22 NIV

“I, the LORD, search the minds and hearts of people. I treat each of them according to the way they live.”
Jeremiah 17:10 GNT

[Jesus said,] “Suppose someone welcomes a prophet as a prophet. That one will receive a prophet’s reward. And suppose someone welcomes a godly person as a godly person. That one will receive a godly person’s reward. Suppose someone gives even a cup of cold water to a little one who follows me. What I’m about to tell you is true. That one will certainly be rewarded.”
Matthew 10:41-42 NIrV

Be sure to give to them without any hesitation. When you do this the LORD your God will bless you in everything you work for and set out to do.
Deuteronomy 15:10 GOD’S WORD

[Daniel said,] “My God sent his angel to close the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, O king.” King Darius was very happy and told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions’ den. So they lifted him out and did not find any injury on him, because Daniel had trusted in his God.
Daniel 6:22-23 NCV

It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
Sir Josiah Stamp

Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things.
Bruce Barton

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