Outcomes

The key to transformation in the Christian life is being “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom. 12:2) As this process continues the truth sets you free. In the last post I gave you three paragraphs to meditate on and to read over and over again until they become a natural response to sinful desires. The truths in those paragraphs deal with big picture, long term consequences. The fallen angels who plague our lives do not want us to think about big picture, long term consequences; they just want us to think about the cookie.

The three paragraphs are an attempt to think beyond the act of sin (the cookie) to the larger issues of the nature of sin (moral insanity) and the manipulations of the fallen angels (who are trying to dominate and destroy your life).

How Biblical is the business of thinking in terms of the big picture and long term consequences? Let’s explore this by looking at a single chapter of the book of Proverbs. All quotations are from the NASB.

A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. (10:1)

This is big picture thinking dealing with the whole course of your life and the consequences that your actions have on others. Imagine that you are a teenager who has just gotten together with some friends. For the first time in your life you are offered an illegal drug. All Satan wants you to think about is the here and now. Do you want to “chicken out” on your friends? What will they say if you refuse? If that’s all you think about, the battle is already half way lost. But if you start thinking about how heartbroken your parents would be if they found out about it, you are well on your way to victory.

Ill-gotten gains do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. (10:2)

Every once in awhile we have a local news story about someone who caved into temptation and embezzled funds from their place of employment. One of the reasons that these stories interest me is that I can identify with the criminal. I don’t identify at all with someone who would take a gun and rob a liquor store, but I can get inside the head of someone like me, who basically lives a law abiding life, and who succumbs to the temptation to “borrow” some money from work. I’ve never done it, but I can identify with middle class, middle of the road people who might give in to temptation.

The person who begins by “borrowing” some money usually ends up getting in so deep that they can never pay back everything they owe to the company. They do this because their thinking is limited to two ideas and two ideas only. They are thinking about what they want the money for (to pay a bill or buy a luxury) and how good it will feel when the overdue bill is paid or the big screen TV is purchased. If that’s all you’re thinking about, you’re going to loose that struggle. Solomon encourages us to look at the big picture.

Il-gotten gains do not profit. Sure, you might be able to enjoy that big screen TV for a few months, but sooner or later you are going to get caught and go to prison. While you’re in prison, you’ll be surrounded by violent psychopaths, some of whom may injure or even kill you. You can stay out of jail by living a righteous life. This will deliver you from death (and psychopaths). When you are tempted by the big screen TV, if you form vivid pictures of yourself in jail, you are probably not going to commit that sin.

Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. (10:4)

I used to pastor in a small town where I got a taste of farm culture. I’ll never forget something one of the farmers said. “You can tell when a guy isn’t going to make it when he starts spending too much time in town.” It’s Tuesday afternoon. You have work to do. But you really want to go into town, drink coffee, and catch up on the latest gossip. The decision that you will make on that Tuesday afternoon will have little or no impact on your long term finances. As a matter of fact, as a self employed person you can play “hooky” from time to time and get away with it. It’s one of the benefits of being self employed.

But Solomon doesn’t want you to limit your thinking to this Tuesday afternoon. The long terms consequence of negligence is poverty. If you think about the big picture and the long term consequences, while you may take an occasional Tuesday afternoon off, you will spend enough time working to stay profitable.

In the first four verse of this chapter we have three exhortations to look at the big picture and the long term consequences. In a sense, this is the theme of the whole book of Proverbs. The devil knows what he’s going to do. He’s going to try to make you think about “borrowing” money from work so that you can get that big screen TV. He’s going to make you think about how good those football games will look in high def. He’s going to want you to think about how nice it would be to be in an air conditioned theater on a Tuesday afternoon as opposed to working under the hot summer sun on your farm. He’s going to direct your attention to how your “friends” will tease you if you don’t try that drug while never, ever directing your mind to the possibility of breaking your parents’ hearts.

They’ve had thousands of years to master their craft. The fallen angels know what they want you to think about and feel. Do you know how to counter that? Think about the big picture and long term consequences. Study the book of Proverbs to learn how to do that.