Know the consequences.
My mother was the kind of Mom that knew what was going on in her house. Well, as much as she could. She came into my room to make her discovery known. "I came to let you know I found your cassette tape and threw it outside in the dumpster." I stood in my room, wondering how she found what I knew I had hidden. The cassette tape was not in the open, so how did it get in the dumpster? There was no doubt Mom went through my things? She was upset that I broke the no secular music rule. The late '80s and '90s were unstoppable. We were the generation with attitudes. Song's like Bobby Brown's Perrogative smash hit let us know it was time to live our lives. Unfortunately, my Mom wasn't having it.
"I listened to the first song before throwing it out, she said. So, you think you in control?" My eyes bucked inside my head. "Are you kidding me, you threw my revolutionary Janet Jackson CD... oops, cassette tape in the trash?" Boy, was I hot! She continued her disgust with Janet's lyrics, "She talking about she let her mother mold her." I didn't even remember hearing that part in the song, let alone feel the same way. My favorite part was, "got my own mind. I want to make my own decisions when it has to do with my life, my life. I wanna be the one in control."
My choice to go against my mother's rule came with consequences. I had no intention of getting caught, but as she believed, God wouldn't let anything get past her. So, did that mean I was not permitted to exercise my free-will? When would I be given the right to break away from my parental authority and do things my way with no interference? I knew I had to start with the choice in the garden.
"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:9, NIV).
While I do not want to get into the depth of the bible text, I do want to consider Adam and Eve's choice, alternative, and option. What is it about having limits that arouse our curiosity? We are told as children, not to touch the hot stove or get burned. We ignore the warning and suffer the consequences.
"The word choice means the right or opportunity to choose. Alternative implies that a person has a choice between only two possibilities, used with a negative that there is no second possibility. Option emphasizes the free right or privilege of choosing." (Merriam-Webster, 1831).
God never interfered in their right to choose; it was their privilege. Nevertheless, Adam and Eve's choice created a second path, called death. Two paths formed. Some have said that God should have stepped in to stop Adam and Eve, but this would have violated their free-will. When we say God is all-knowing, it means he knows what will lead to life, and he knows what will lead to death.
Proverbs 14:12 says, "there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end leads to death."
Unfortunately, many do not like the alternative terms and conditions. We have to pick between two choices, Life or Death. People want something in between the middle without consequences. They want a pleasure bath of sinful choices with no repercussions. They call it, "do you, and I'll do me!" Be careful doing you down a path you may not recover. Did you know most people don't struggle with what leads to death, they struggle with who leads to life? What is so hard about choosing life?
The bible says many will not choose the path to life because it is a narrow way. They choose Satan's wide and broad path. Meaning, there are no set rules to live by, but the consequences are waiting in the end. The first arbitrary choice happened in the "Garden of Eden" between Adam and Eve. This means they were not under a law or court judgment, but the arbitration of a judge who settles disputes between parties. God listened to all sides, and then he handed down their consequences.
We are all given a choice to either follow a road to death, or the path to life. In the cassette tape situation, "Control" was about rebelling against parental authority, and rejection of their teachings. There will always be someone we have to answer regarding the choices we make in life. Do we not listen to our boss at work? If not, we risk being fired. How about the courthouse judge when we break the law? We must make our choices wisely. One last thing to remember we don't choose our consequences, and whatever they are we must suffer them.
LA~ Life Tip
Consult with someone you trust when facing difficult decisions.
Know the pros and cons of choices before you choose.
Reference
For the American Heritage Dictionary definition: resentment. (n.d.) American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011). Retrieved June 30, 2020, from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/resentment
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