I am quite sure that this won't be the most popular thing I have ever written. I know even before I commit it to paper that some people will not like the idea of consequences. I understand. There are a lot of things I don't like either. I am almost 50 ... and I'm not too fond of gravity but it hasn't changed one thing about the effects of gravity on me! So, whether you believe in consequences or not ...
Every action, good or bad, every purposeful or accidental choice you make has consequences!
Whether you choose to be accountable is almost insignificant. If you steal, someone will steal from you. If you take something that does not belong to you, you have just given the universe permission to take something from you! The score is always evened. The balance is always maintained. It's just the way things are. People have accepted cause and effect for centuries. Generations of parents have told generations of children ...
You will reap what you sow.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
Waste not and want not.
Honor your father and mother so that your days will be long.
Honor your father and mother so that your days will be long.
What goes around comes around.
If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword.
A soft answer turns away wrath.
You lie down with dogs. You will get up with fleas.
You lie down with dogs. You will get up with fleas.
You made your bed. Now you will just have to lie in it.
Pretty is as pretty does.
Be careful for what you ask for.
Personal accountability is not so popular now.
Let me give you a specific example of what I am talking about.
A lady once asked me to look at some of her mother's jewelry and give her some idea of what it should sell for. She took me through her mother's house and as the daughter of an auctioneer, I saw thousands of items that should have and could have gone for 100 dollars each and many items that would have made Antique Road Show drool. She asked my advice and I gave her my BEST advice. She also asked me to pray that her mother's estate would sell HIGH.
I'm happy to pray with someone anytime, but I didn't know at the time that this woman had cheated the IRS for 20 years, working for under the table money and not reporting it. This same woman later told me that she and her sister had scammed their mother out of thousands of dollars! In the course of getting to know her, she told me story after story of times that she and her sister had cheated other people and yet she expected God to bless her mother's estate auction!
I'm happy to pray with someone anytime, but I didn't know at the time that this woman had cheated the IRS for 20 years, working for under the table money and not reporting it. This same woman later told me that she and her sister had scammed their mother out of thousands of dollars! In the course of getting to know her, she told me story after story of times that she and her sister had cheated other people and yet she expected God to bless her mother's estate auction!
I have attended hundreds of auction sales and something happened at this auction that I have never seen happen before. I watched people, not just a few, but dozens, move things from lot to lot, tuck things into their pockets, take additional boxes that were not their's. I am bold and I did speak to a few of them and asked them what they were doing. Every single time, they acted surprised and said they had made a mistake, but they and I both knew that it was no mistake. I have never seen such blatant thievery!
When the auction was settled, both sisters were disappointed with the final tally and who do you think they were mad at? They were mad at their mother for not marking things more clearly. They were mad at the Auctioneer for not having more security and for selling things too cheap. They were mad at the buyers who stole from them ... but saddest of all, they were mad at God!
When the auction was settled, both sisters were disappointed with the final tally and who do you think they were mad at? They were mad at their mother for not marking things more clearly. They were mad at the Auctioneer for not having more security and for selling things too cheap. They were mad at the buyers who stole from them ... but saddest of all, they were mad at God!
The whole event was absolutely loaded with more greed than I have ever witnessed. It's certainly NOT my place to pass judgment on the woman, her sister, her mother or anyone else. I am only using her as an example of what won't work. You can't spend your entire life ripping people off and expect God to bless you, no matter who asks!
Cause and effect. If you have made a mess of your life, who else but YOU is going to clean it up?
If you don't take care of your body, you will get sick.
If you don't feed your mind with sound wisdom and good knowledge, you will waste your mind on foolish thinking.
If you set your heart to the pursuit of unsatisfying things, you will not be satisfied. You will only end up feeling more depressed and anxious!
We can search and search and search the whole world over but our answers are NOT out there! Our answers are inside each of us, tucked safely inside our hearts, but we have to KNOW OUR HEARTS to find them!
Can we take better care of our bodies? Do we eat and drink things that aren't good for us? Do we get enough sleep? Do we get enough exercise? Do we do things that will lead to good health or do we put off doing the things we should for the sake of convenience, fast food, quick drinks, not enough time and all the other excuses?
Can we use our minds more effectively? Do we waste our time worrying? Do we read trash and garbage or do we read things to improve our minds? What do we watch on tv? What do we listen to on the radio? What movies do we watch? Our minds are just like computers ... Garbage in and garbage out!
What are the desires of our hearts? If you were leaving this earth today and you only had today to have the thing you always wanted, what would that one thing be? You don't have to tell me or anyone else. You will not get caught. One day to do anything. What would YOU choose?
What are the desires of our hearts? If you were leaving this earth today and you only had today to have the thing you always wanted, what would that one thing be? You don't have to tell me or anyone else. You will not get caught. One day to do anything. What would YOU choose?
Most of you instantly had a first thought. Maybe, it was travel. Maybe, it was wealth. Maybe, it was good health. Maybe, it was being surrounded by your family. Maybe, it was something exotic. Maybe, it was the cure for cancer. Maybe, it was one last plate of waffles with your Mom. Maybe, it was finishing that book. Maybe, it was writing the best piece of music you have ever written. Maybe, it was finishing your greatest painting. There are a thousand answers and you thought of yours almost as soon as I asked the question.
Know your heart. Look at your answer. That's your truth. That's your starting place.
Life is cause and effect. Our lives are not just about the good or bad works that we do. BUT our actions do reflect the condition of our hearts. If we do good, good will come back to us. If we do bad, bad will come back to us.
Even though I am writing about it, I don't have everything figured out. I don't have all the answers. I have experienced cause and effect in negative ways.
I was attracted to angry men and they hurt me. DUH! I thought I could "help" ... but angry men are too angry to even admit to themselves that they need help so my "dream" was doomed from the start! The other side of that coin is that a "bad guy" finally thought he had found a "good woman". I made him feel special but he had all these bigger issues that made him feel worthless and when I didn't shine bright enough to remove all those worthless feelings, it was easier to just blame me for not being good enough ... How many times did I dance that very same dance before I realized that the steps would always bring me to the very same place? I hate to even count!
I was reaping what I sowed. I didn't need to be "helping" anyone else as much as I needed to be "working on me"! I'm not being hard on myself. I'm just telling the truth about my own life.
I was reaping what I sowed. I didn't need to be "helping" anyone else as much as I needed to be "working on me"! I'm not being hard on myself. I'm just telling the truth about my own life.
Why oh why would we rather sit on our butts whining about how bad our lives are when life would immediately improve if we got up and did something ... ANYTHING is better than NOTHING, even if it's wrong!
That's it! NO MORE WHINING! I'm not going to let myself whine and I'm not going to listen to anyone else whine either! Life is TOO SHORT for any of us to waste one more minute! Get up! Let's put our big girl panties (or big boy Pants) on ... Comb our hair, brush our teeth, hold our head up high and get started on the REST OF OUR LIVES!
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