2 SAMUEL 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.

7 And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.

8 The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

15 And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

31 And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.”

32 The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.”

33 And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Actions have consequences.  One elderly church lady found that out the hard way.   Unfortunately Mildred had a reputation for being a little bit of a busybody. Most people didn’t like it but they didn’t say anything because they didn’t want to become her next victim.  Frank, however, wasn’t like all of Mildred’s other victims.  Shortly after he joined Mildred’s church she saw his truck parked outside a local bar.  Mildred was shocked and told Frank along with several other people that it was obvious why his truck was parked there all afternoon.  Anyone who saw his truck sitting there would know that he had a serious drinking problem.  Well, Frank didn’t say a word.  He just turned and walked away.  Later that evening Frank drove over to Mildred’s house.  After he parked his truck he got out and left it in her driveway all night.  You’ve got to love Frank

Actions have consequences.  Those consequences though aren’t always obvious.  That’s because every time you do something there are short term consequences and long term consequences.  Now the short term consequences are the ones that are the most obvious.  For example:

If you eat too much you’re going to end up with a bad case of indigestion.

If you drink too much you’re going to wake up the next morning with a hangover.

If you don’t study for your exams you’re going to flunk the course.

If you wave a red flag in front of an angry bull it won’t be long before you’re running for your life.

Actions have short term consequences.  Actions however also have long term consequences and it’s those long term consequences that can really get you into trouble. Just look at what happened to David.  David was a sad dad.  He was sad for a couple of reasons.  David was sad when his son Abasalom rebelled against him and he was sad when he learned that his son was dead.

When David hears that Absalom is dead he cries out, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Yes, David was a sad dad but he was a sad dad for another reason.  He was a sad dad because he was a failure as a father.  I say that because David knew that Absalom’s death was a long term consequence for something that he didn’t do a few years earlier.   It all started when Absalom’s half-brother Amnon raped Absalom’s sister Tamar.  Absalom of course was furious and demands that David punish Amnon.  David though doesn’t do a thing. He basically says, “Oh well, boys will be boys.”  So, Absalom takes matters into his own hands and kills Amnon.  When David learns that Amnon has been murdered he’s furious and Absalom has to flee for his life.

So it’s simple. If David had done the right thing to begin with none of this would have happened. Amnon wouldn’t have been killed.  Absalom wouldn’t have hated his father and rebelled against him and Joab, David’s general wouldn’t have taken it upon himself to kill Absalom when he found him dangling from that tree in the forest.

What this shows you is that actions do have long term consequences.

If you do a little more digging you’ll see that the seeds of this terrible tragedy go back even further.  They go all the way back to David’s affair with Bathsheba.  After David has his affair with Bathsheba he makes arrangements for her husband Uriah, a soldier in David’s army, to be killed in battle.  David then marries Bathsheba and thinks he’s going to live happily ever after, but then God sends the prophet Nathan to the king with an ominous message.

“Why,” Nathan asks, “have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house.   (2 Samuel 12:9-11)

Actions don’t just have short term consequences.  Actions also have long term consequences. 

If you eat to much you’ll get indigestion. The long term consequence when you eat too much is that you could also end up with diabetes, high blood pressure and congestive heart.

If you drink too much you’re going to wake up the next morning with a hangover.  The long term consequence for drinking to much is that you could become an alcoholic and not only ruin your liver, but your marriage, your relationship with your children  and your career.

If you don’t study for your exams you’ll end up failing the course.  The long term consequences is that you could flunk out of college and end up in a lousy job with no future at all.

David learned too late that actions have short term consequences and long term consequences.   It’s something to think about as you live your life.   How will this decision affect me and others two weeks from now?  Two months from now?  Two years from now? 

By the way, those long term consequences don’t have to be negative.  They can be positive.  You can see that from an amazing study that was done back in the late 1800’s.  The study involved some research into the descendents of two men, Jonathan Edwards and Max Keyser.  Jonathan Edwards was the great preacher of the early 1700’s.  He graduated from Yale at the age of 13 and went on to become the first president of Princeton University.  Even with all of his success Jonathan Edwards made sure that he set aside one hour each day to spend with his children.  Now Max Keyser was a contemporary of Jonathan Edwards but completely different from him.  Max Keyser was an alcoholic who often disappeared for days at a time and when he was around he showed no concern for his wife and children.

Now this is where the study gets interesting.  After many hours of research a genealogy for both men revealed some fascinating facts. Max Keyser’s genealogy included 540 descendents.  Of those 540 descendents 310 were paupers who spent a combined total of 2,300 years in poor houses. Not only that but 150 of his descendents were criminals including 7 murderers, 100 of them were alcoholics and are you ready for the grand finale? Half of all of his female descendents were prostitutes.

Jonathan Edwards’ genealogy, on the other hand, included 1,394 descendents.  Of those descendents 13 were college presidents and 65 were college professors. His descendents also included 30  judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 pastors, 60 prominent authors and 3 United States senators. His descendants also included governors, foreign ministers and one vice-president of the United States.

Every action has short term consequences and long term consequences.  The long term consequences can be positive.  The long term consequences will be positive when you do God’s Will. Did you see the movie “The Iron Lady?”  The movie is about the life of Margaret Thatcher the former British Prime Minister. In the movie there’s this wonderful quote.  Mrs. Thatcher says, “Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become... habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny!”    Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

August 12, 2012