relationships

“Sin Has Consequences”

But when we insist on consequences over grace and love, we sow for a bitter harvest.

Tonight I heard that “sin has consequences.”

So do grace and love.

“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

“Love covereth all sins” (Proverbs 10:12).

Sin, repented of and properly dealt with, needs no further review and regurgitation.

When we insist on consequences over grace and love, we sow for a bitter harvest.

I don’t wish that harvest on anyone. Especially on myself.

So which will matter most to me in my relationships with those who fail?

Let me allow grace and love to triumph in my heart!

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

IDKU

I didn’t violate you — as though seeing you exposed were no violation.
modified photograph of T

I. Don’t. Know. You.

I wasn’t looking for you. I found you during a Web search for one of my many friends. Now I’ve seen you — far more of you than I, who am not your husband, should have seen.

Did you mean to look sad? Perhaps you were trying to look seductive or at least inviting, kneeling upright there in the grass.

But what’s striking and attention-grabbing to me is your face, not the rest of your body. You look sad, T. (I’d make this even more personal by using your name, but then I would be helping the curious and the perverts to find you.)

Do you look sad because you know…

  • you are giving away your “scenic views” so cheaply?
  • you have little prime “real estate” left covered and unexploited?
  • you are demeaning yourself for little return?
  • you two have turned you into mere eye candy for lustful men?
  • you won’t get the affection your soul craves?
  • you should be protecting your modesty and your value?
  • the photographer should have protected your modesty and your value?

Or is the sad face your attempt to sear an unspoken truth into the eyes and conscience of the photog and all other lookers? Read it all

Me? Schizophrenic?

How will I sustain a miserable demeanor toward Person A while presenting a cheerful demeanor toward Person B? Who would dare try such an impossibility?!

No, I’m not schizophrenic.

Nor do I like to minimize or make light of schizophrenia by using the term carelessly or even too freely.

But the thought of switching between a positive disposition and a negative demeanor is a challenging one. And convicting, too. Read it all

Above all, love God!