Truth or Consequences

In the year between March 2020 and March 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) registered 96,000 deaths attributed to fentanyl overdose. The legitimate use for this powerful drug is as a narcotic analgesic used in combination with other drugs before, during, or following surgery and for chronic pain management.

Illicit drug vendors soon realized that by adding small amounts of fentanyl to the drugs of choice among users, potency and effectiveness would be enhanced. Drug smugglers find a ready source for fentanyl in China. It is difficult to detect and now as consequence of open border policy, easily smuggled across our southern border.

It appears that the nation's leadership has more concern about two or three parts per million of byproduct chemicals in our streams than they do about the deadly effects of drugs laced with fentanyl. This problem will be compounded with a sharp rise in deaths as a consequence of open border policy. Some may find it difficult to connect cause and effect when the truth is often obliterated by the media, but for all of us the end consequences remain.

Choices we make have consequences. This is a trite and perhaps overused expression, but still a substantive truth from which we learn. Within the Bible we read about the mistakes of others and the consequences. We see how some learn and return to God while others reject Him. These stories are there for our learning and understanding of God's ways. God's mercy and forgiveness are evident when one repents a wrong, but despite forgiveness there may be lasting consequences. Consider David's sin with Bathsheba: 1) murder and bloodshed a constant threat, 2) his household rebelled against him, 3) wives given to another in public view, 4) child died. (2 Samuel 12:10-14). All this was the consequence of a few moments of pleasure.

The long term ramifications are rarely considered prior to a wrong act. Besides the immediate affect, the affect on others often reaches through generations (Exodus 34:7). One should also consider that "however great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel anyone to do evil."* It is each individual's responsibility to come to a knowledge of the truth through the reading and study of God's Holy Word. The stories found there reveal the consequences of right and wrong choices from which we learn how to follow God's plan for living to our full potential.

Now if we sin deliberately after we have known and accepted the truth, there can be no further sacrifice for sin for us but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fire of God's indignation, which will one day consume all that sets itself against Him. [Hebrews 10:26,27 J.B. Phillips Translation]

* E.G. White, PP 421