Notes of Faith September 3, 2026
Consequences
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly and suffers the consequences.
Proverbs 22:3, NLT
The high school student was an actor, and the blood was fake. But the emergency teams were real, and the trauma felt real too. Students listened as the intensive care doctors, nurses, and organ donor specialists tried to deal with the consequences of one fictional student’s risky behavior. The coordinator said, “We don’t want to stop young people from enjoying their independence, but we also want to give them a different perspective on the real-world consequences that can follow a rash decision.”
Proverbs 22:3 also warns us of real-world consequences for risky behavior, and the message is so important the verse is repeated word for word in Proverbs 27:12.
When we sin, there is a spiritual price tag. God forgives, but He doesn’t take away the consequences. That’s why we have to think ahead, foresee danger, and take precautions. One of the precautions is to fill your heart with verses from God’s Word so that you can make good decisions on a daily basis.
As we search the Scriptures, we must allow them to search us, to sit in judgment upon our character and conduct.
Jerry Bridges
Prov 27:12
12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself,
The naive proceed and pay the penalty.
Prov 27:17
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
Warnings are often repeated in Scripture just as a righteous and good parent warns their children of poor decisions and consequences that follow.
God uses other followers of Jesus to lovingly help hold us accountable to His standard of obedience. We need each other to battle against the spiritual realms of evil and wickedness that seek to draw us away from intimacy with God.
May we be in the Word daily, take heed of the warnings of our Savior, and pursue righteous living and eternal reward in following in the footsteps of Jesus!
Pastor Dale