Warning! Ripple Effect

I read a book a few years back called “The Butterfly Effect”, written by Andy Andrews. It was a fascinating read because it traced events of today back to their origin. It sounds absurd to trace the activities of someone today all the way back to their ancestors and even beyond that. In this book, Andy traces the effect of George Washington Carver and the influences upon his life that led him to discover multiple uses for the peanut and ultimately a hybrid corn that would halt the famine in Africa years ago.

The things we do today or on any regular day can have ripple effects for years to come.

I was reading about King David’s family and some of his sons felt very privileged for sure. Amnon, one of his sons, was in love with his half-sister, Tamar. It was not appropriate for sure. He was actually “in lust” over her. He asked that she come bake him his favorite food. He pretends to be sick, so that everyone has sympathy for him. She warns him, but he doesn’t heed the warning. Check this out…

¹⁰ Then he said to Tamar, “Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here.” So Tamar took his favorite dish to him. ¹¹ But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling sister.”

¹² “No, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel. ¹³ Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. (2 Samuel 13:10-13 NLT)

The ripple effects of this sin will go on for years. Tamar’s life was ruined. Her brother Absalom hated Amnon for what he had done, and he planned his revenge. Absalom would kill Amnon two years later and this started Absalom’s estrangement to his Dad, King David. The ripple effect could mean, we could trace the behavior of King David’s family back to his decision to commit adultery with Bathsheba, which led to him murdering her husband.

I need to remember that the choices I make today can have ripple effect for years to come. The words I choose to say and how I say them can be picked up by my children and children’s children for years to come. I want my children and others around me to pick up only the good habits or activities of my life. The issue is, I can’t control what they pick up, so I need to be keeny aware of the words I speak and the actions I take at any given moment.  I’m daily asking the Lord to help me speak wisely and have great discernment in my everyday activities so that I can represent Him well. I want the activities of my life and the words of my mouth to reflect a deep faith in the Lord.

Pressing On!

Dwayne