Choice and Consequences
Scripture Reading: Genesis 16:1-12
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an
Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram,
“See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go
in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded
the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the
Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram
had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and
she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress
became despised in her eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into
your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became
despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as
you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her
presence.
7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the
wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’
s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit
yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I
will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be
counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her:
“ Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Sarai came up with a really good idea, or so she thought. Since she hadn’t been
blessed with children she thought that maybe she could have children through
her maid, Hagar. In fact, she said please. Then after Hagar saw that she was
pregnant, she began to look down on her, and Sarai gets mad at Abram. Abram
must have been like, whatever! Hagar probably felt like she had achieved higher
status in the household now that she would bear a child for the master of the
house. Maybe she felt like she had some special relationship with Abram now
that she was carrying his child. He’d been intimate with her and it says Sarai
gave her to be his wife so she may have even felt like she should be held on a
higher level than her mistress.
So, when confronted with the dilemma, Abram made it crystal clear where his
loyalty was. He tells his wife to do with her maid what she will. He evidently had
no special place in his heart for Hagar. I can’t imagine how dejected Hagar must
have been the first time Sarai was harsh with her and she glanced at Abram for
support but he just looked away. I can’t imagine why else she would have begun
to treat her mistress badly but that she thought Abram would favor her. So,
Hagar runs away. While sitting by a spring the Angel of the LORD visits her and
convinces her to go back to Sarai. Basically, He tells her that she will be blessed
and her descendants will be plenty.
Now, Sarai had a choice to send her maid in to be with her husband. That choice
had a consequence. Her maidservant became her adversary. Abram had a
choice to accept his wife’s offer to go and lay with her maid. The consequence of
that choice was that much conflict was added to his household. Not just during
this time but for many years to come and after the son God promised would be
given to him. Even Hagar had a choice. She likely didn’t have much say in
whether her master would take her to wife, since she was a slave, but she
definitely had a choice in how she would treat her mistress after she found that
she was with child. Imagine how much things might have been different if she had
remained humble and befriended her mistress. The tension remained between
them for the nearly two decades she remained in Abram's household.
The bottom line here is that every choice has a consequence. God wants us to
come to Him for guidance before we make our choices, and not just afterward to
clean up the mess. When I was young I used to watch Sesame Street. At the
time there was a little short that they would play frequently that was called, ‘What
Happens Next’. In the little cartoon short was a little girl that had a choice to
make. I remember one where she had big balloon and a pin. She stands next to
a sleeping cat with a big grin. Then a big thought bubble opens above her head
and she begins going through the ‘What Happens Next’ sequence. If I pop this
balloon next to the sleeping cat, it will likely scare him so much he’ll jump up might
hit the big cage and knock it over, that may fall on her mother’s table to knock
over her favorite vase, which would make her mother sad. After going through
the process in her mind she would decide to make the better choice not to scare
the cat. Although, it was just a little child’s show, I always remembered it; not that
I always used the principles it taught, though I probably should have.
I know that as a parent myself I love when my children come to me before they
make a decision. Whether they take my advice or not is not the main point, but
that they value my opinion enough to come to me first. It shows a level of trust.
But you know what, there are times when I’m wrong. I am not infallible. I do not
know the end from the beginning. Our heavenly Father does. His guidance will
always be the right path.
Psalm 25:8-10
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
God is going to always lead us on the right path. If we choose to follow His
direction we will always be going the right way. How awesome is that? I know that
I can look back at times in my life and pinpoint poor choices. I can see exactly
where I have gone against what the word of God says and you know what? I
have had to deal with the consequences that have come as a result of it. Not
only me but also those I love. There is a lot that can be influenced by our
choices. In retrospect, I think it would have been nice to make the proper choice
but the fact is that I have no more control over those past choices. What I do
have control over is my future choices. Hindsight is 20/20 but it does not help
you unless you learn from it.
Can you imagine how differently things may have come out if Adam and Eve had
considered the consequences of their choices? What if Cain had considered his
choice to get angry and take out his frustration on his brother, Abel? If Lot’s wife
had not made the choice to turn back to Sodom, Lot would have had his wife and
his daughters would not have done what was despicable in having children for
their father. Those children, by the way, became an almost constant source of
trouble for the children of Israel during their initial time in the Promised Land. So,
the choice by Lot’s wife had not only an immediate consequence but also one
that would have an effect hundreds of years later. Just as the choices by Abram,
Sarai, and Hagar had an immediate consequence, it also had consequences we
are still feeling today. The next time you turn on a world news program, look at
the conflict in the Middle East. Arabs will call themselves sons of Ishmael the son
of Abram and Hagar, while Jews call themselves sons of Isaac the son of
Abraham and Sarah. But they all call themselves sons of Abraham. As the Angel
told Hagar, her son is indeed a wild man and with his hand against every man,
with every man’s hand against him, while he dwells in the presence of all his
brethren. That’s quite a consequence for one poor choice, huh?
Last week we spoke about going boldly before the throne of grace no matter what
and the same applies here. When we are in times of trouble we cannot be afraid
to cry out to YHWH, just because we got into that trouble by disregarding His
direction. I remember once when my daughter Kristen was in high school she got
free tickets to go to a ballet at the performing arts center downtown. She actually
came to me and asked about how to get there but beyond the directions I gave
her just one piece of advice; do not park anywhere else but in the paid parking
garage. I made sure she had the $10 for the fee and told her that though it would
be tempting to park on the street or something not to because they tow a lot of
cars during events downtown. Well she decided to save the $10 and to park in a
Burger King parking lot. She had a great time at the ballet but when she came
back to get her car…it was gone. It had been towed.
When she called me that night I could have said, “I told you so” or told her that
she was on her own now because she didn’t heed my direction. But I didn’t do
that. What I did was get out of bed, got into my car and went downtown to help
me daughter who was in trouble. It ended up costing like $150 or more to get her
car back. Now here’s the thing I want you to see here. Though I got up and went
down to help, she still had to pay the consequences for the choice she had made
that night. For her it was monetary. Money that she had been saving was now
gone.
As we’ve talked about here today, many times the consequences are far
reaching, even down through generations. As we mature in Christ we must
recognize how important our choices are, even the ones that seem trivial. And
because we know that each choice is important, we should take those choices to
the throne and ask Him to lead and guide us in making the right decision. Now,
unlike the little girl in the ‘What Happens Next’ shorts from Sesame Street, we do
not have to imagine what might happen next in order to make a good decision.
We have a much more efficient way to make right choices; the Holy Spirit. I’ll
close with some scripture that if received and understood, will help greatly in this
area.
1 Corinthians 2:6,10-16 -
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of
this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all
things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of
God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world,
but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been
freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but
which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no
one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But
we have the mind of Christ.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: October 5, 2008
Scripture Reading: Genesis 16:1-12
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an
Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram,
“See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go
in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded
the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the
Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram
had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and
she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress
became despised in her eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into
your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became
despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as
you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her
presence.
7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the
wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’
s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit
yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I
will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be
counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her:
“ Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Sarai came up with a really good idea, or so she thought. Since she hadn’t been
blessed with children she thought that maybe she could have children through
her maid, Hagar. In fact, she said please. Then after Hagar saw that she was
pregnant, she began to look down on her, and Sarai gets mad at Abram. Abram
must have been like, whatever! Hagar probably felt like she had achieved higher
status in the household now that she would bear a child for the master of the
house. Maybe she felt like she had some special relationship with Abram now
that she was carrying his child. He’d been intimate with her and it says Sarai
gave her to be his wife so she may have even felt like she should be held on a
higher level than her mistress.
So, when confronted with the dilemma, Abram made it crystal clear where his
loyalty was. He tells his wife to do with her maid what she will. He evidently had
no special place in his heart for Hagar. I can’t imagine how dejected Hagar must
have been the first time Sarai was harsh with her and she glanced at Abram for
support but he just looked away. I can’t imagine why else she would have begun
to treat her mistress badly but that she thought Abram would favor her. So,
Hagar runs away. While sitting by a spring the Angel of the LORD visits her and
convinces her to go back to Sarai. Basically, He tells her that she will be blessed
and her descendants will be plenty.
Now, Sarai had a choice to send her maid in to be with her husband. That choice
had a consequence. Her maidservant became her adversary. Abram had a
choice to accept his wife’s offer to go and lay with her maid. The consequence of
that choice was that much conflict was added to his household. Not just during
this time but for many years to come and after the son God promised would be
given to him. Even Hagar had a choice. She likely didn’t have much say in
whether her master would take her to wife, since she was a slave, but she
definitely had a choice in how she would treat her mistress after she found that
she was with child. Imagine how much things might have been different if she had
remained humble and befriended her mistress. The tension remained between
them for the nearly two decades she remained in Abram's household.
The bottom line here is that every choice has a consequence. God wants us to
come to Him for guidance before we make our choices, and not just afterward to
clean up the mess. When I was young I used to watch Sesame Street. At the
time there was a little short that they would play frequently that was called, ‘What
Happens Next’. In the little cartoon short was a little girl that had a choice to
make. I remember one where she had big balloon and a pin. She stands next to
a sleeping cat with a big grin. Then a big thought bubble opens above her head
and she begins going through the ‘What Happens Next’ sequence. If I pop this
balloon next to the sleeping cat, it will likely scare him so much he’ll jump up might
hit the big cage and knock it over, that may fall on her mother’s table to knock
over her favorite vase, which would make her mother sad. After going through
the process in her mind she would decide to make the better choice not to scare
the cat. Although, it was just a little child’s show, I always remembered it; not that
I always used the principles it taught, though I probably should have.
I know that as a parent myself I love when my children come to me before they
make a decision. Whether they take my advice or not is not the main point, but
that they value my opinion enough to come to me first. It shows a level of trust.
But you know what, there are times when I’m wrong. I am not infallible. I do not
know the end from the beginning. Our heavenly Father does. His guidance will
always be the right path.
Psalm 25:8-10
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
God is going to always lead us on the right path. If we choose to follow His
direction we will always be going the right way. How awesome is that? I know that
I can look back at times in my life and pinpoint poor choices. I can see exactly
where I have gone against what the word of God says and you know what? I
have had to deal with the consequences that have come as a result of it. Not
only me but also those I love. There is a lot that can be influenced by our
choices. In retrospect, I think it would have been nice to make the proper choice
but the fact is that I have no more control over those past choices. What I do
have control over is my future choices. Hindsight is 20/20 but it does not help
you unless you learn from it.
Can you imagine how differently things may have come out if Adam and Eve had
considered the consequences of their choices? What if Cain had considered his
choice to get angry and take out his frustration on his brother, Abel? If Lot’s wife
had not made the choice to turn back to Sodom, Lot would have had his wife and
his daughters would not have done what was despicable in having children for
their father. Those children, by the way, became an almost constant source of
trouble for the children of Israel during their initial time in the Promised Land. So,
the choice by Lot’s wife had not only an immediate consequence but also one
that would have an effect hundreds of years later. Just as the choices by Abram,
Sarai, and Hagar had an immediate consequence, it also had consequences we
are still feeling today. The next time you turn on a world news program, look at
the conflict in the Middle East. Arabs will call themselves sons of Ishmael the son
of Abram and Hagar, while Jews call themselves sons of Isaac the son of
Abraham and Sarah. But they all call themselves sons of Abraham. As the Angel
told Hagar, her son is indeed a wild man and with his hand against every man,
with every man’s hand against him, while he dwells in the presence of all his
brethren. That’s quite a consequence for one poor choice, huh?
Last week we spoke about going boldly before the throne of grace no matter what
and the same applies here. When we are in times of trouble we cannot be afraid
to cry out to YHWH, just because we got into that trouble by disregarding His
direction. I remember once when my daughter Kristen was in high school she got
free tickets to go to a ballet at the performing arts center downtown. She actually
came to me and asked about how to get there but beyond the directions I gave
her just one piece of advice; do not park anywhere else but in the paid parking
garage. I made sure she had the $10 for the fee and told her that though it would
be tempting to park on the street or something not to because they tow a lot of
cars during events downtown. Well she decided to save the $10 and to park in a
Burger King parking lot. She had a great time at the ballet but when she came
back to get her car…it was gone. It had been towed.
When she called me that night I could have said, “I told you so” or told her that
she was on her own now because she didn’t heed my direction. But I didn’t do
that. What I did was get out of bed, got into my car and went downtown to help
me daughter who was in trouble. It ended up costing like $150 or more to get her
car back. Now here’s the thing I want you to see here. Though I got up and went
down to help, she still had to pay the consequences for the choice she had made
that night. For her it was monetary. Money that she had been saving was now
gone.
As we’ve talked about here today, many times the consequences are far
reaching, even down through generations. As we mature in Christ we must
recognize how important our choices are, even the ones that seem trivial. And
because we know that each choice is important, we should take those choices to
the throne and ask Him to lead and guide us in making the right decision. Now,
unlike the little girl in the ‘What Happens Next’ shorts from Sesame Street, we do
not have to imagine what might happen next in order to make a good decision.
We have a much more efficient way to make right choices; the Holy Spirit. I’ll
close with some scripture that if received and understood, will help greatly in this
area.
1 Corinthians 2:6,10-16 -
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of
this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all
things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of
God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world,
but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been
freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but
which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no
one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But
we have the mind of Christ.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: October 5, 2008