I Can Get Away With It

They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us’ . . . Jeremiah 5:12

None of us starts out searching for the painful consequences that follow our destructive addictions to drugs, porn, food, anger, or money. In the beginning, we indulge just a little, knowing that we will stop before we hurt anything or anyone.

I’ll just eat one chip. Only 15 calories. That’s nothing. I can work that off walking around the house. Then, one chip turns into one bag. Hundreds of bags and many pounds later, the food addict faces diabetes, hypertension and a drastically shortened life span.

In my drug addiction, when I took the first pill, I had no intention of going as far as I did. I knew I could just have my pleasure and walk away with no one ever knowing. No consequences. I’m not hurting anyone. I’ll do as I please today and I’ll stop tomorrow. God will forgive, and no one will ever know.

The problem with not getting caught though, is that we never truly walk away with no consequences. When we indulge, we reward our brains and when we fail to suffer any obvious pain, the behavioral pattern is reinforced. This is devastating to our self-control and soon, we are addicted.

Even if no one ever discovers our destructive pursuits, there is still consequence. In following ourselves instead of God, we turn from him, distancing ourselves from the most important relationship of our lives. Even if we can’t see it immediately, this is disastrous to our future decision making ability.

The little decisions matter. When I start out with one chip or one pill in my hand, it may seem like a small thing, but I now know where it leads. If I want to avoid the disaster that eventually ensues, I must realize that nothing is really without consequence. If I want to know life, joy, and peace, then I must realize that I find those things by daily turning from myself and following God, even in the little decisions.