The Fruit of Our Actions
Actions have consequences. God makes sure that is how life works. He wants all of us to see that we are responsible for our actions. That is why He blesses us for good actions, and we receive His displeasure for our sinful actions. There is no neutral ground. What we do is either right or wrong. It is either righteous or a sin. Today, we start reading through the Prophets of the Old Testament. This is a major theme in their teachings. We will see this over and over for the next several months. Isaiah gets us off to a good start. (Isaiah 3:10,11) God commanded Isaiah to tell the righteous that things would go well for them, because they would eat the fruit of their actions. On the other hand, God told him to say woe to the wicked, it would go badly for them, because they would receive what their actions deserve. This may seem simple, but it is much more profound than we might think.
God is holy. He never does the wrong thing, and He always does the right thing. Also, He hates sin. He knows that the wages of sin is death. God doesn't want anyone to go to hell for their sins. That is why He makes sure that we get what we deserve for our sinful actions. That causes us pain and discomfort, so we will turn to God and listen to Him. When we listen, we will hear Him telling us to repent of those sinful actions and follow His will. He will show us when we do His will that things will go well with us. This is not so much a promise, as it is a principle. Yes, bad things happen to righteous people, but those things are not the result of their actions. They are the result of living in a world affected by sin. The righteous will not add to that pain by God's displeasure toward them, because they do His will. God blesses them, so they are encouraged to do His will more and more. See what I mean? God has a method behind making us responsible for our actions. It is because He loves us, and He wants us to end up in heaven with Him for eternity by turning from our sins and trusting Jesus alone for our eternal salvation.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 4-6.