Truth or Consequences
Today’s scripture selection: Hosea 8-14
Key verses: Hosea 8:7a
Do you remember a wildly popular game show from some years ago named “Truth or Consequences”? It featured trivia questions and wacky stunts and it ran for years – first on radio then on television.
But the phrase “truth or consequences” could be described for something far more serious than a game show. It describes ancient Israel’s history.
Time and again the people vacillated between faithfulness and idolatry; between drawing close to and pulling away from the God who had called them forth from slavery.
And, the truth was, they often suffered the consequences of those choices.
We can too.
God is loving and amazingly patient. And yet, as a holy and righteous God there are also often painful consequences that must be suffered for our unfaithful choices.
It’s not that God is cruel or sadistic. He doesn’t enjoy seeing His people suffer.
But the cosmos would be an unbearable place if there was no justice; no order that helps mediate things when people go too far afield of God’s purposes for them.
The consequences may not always be apparent or even immediate – but they are real nonetheless.
So choose carefully. Wrong choices can result in what is aptly described in the book of Hosea:
“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.”
What’s the alternative?
To seek God’s guidance and do our best to align our wills with His.
Life, as God intends, is no game show. Let’s live it well.
Prayer: Almighty God, help me to follow your will and your way each day. AMEN.
