Consequences Are a Moving Target

Navigating The Complexity

The worst thing we can do is avoid consequences. The beginning of discernment is to seek out consequences. This is what teenagers do when they test boundaries. They are seeing what the consequences are, looking for cracks, but also looking for security. We have to embrace consequences in order to make sense of them and learn from them.

This doesn’t mean we just agree with everything that comes our way. The second step is to evaluate the consequence. This can only properly be done through the lens of truth. Why did my action end in this result? What truth does that reveal about the way the world works? What does it show about my character, how does it relate to my values, and what can I learn from it to grow as a person of character?

The complexities of consequences are not just to confuse us. The truth is complicated. We will spend our entire life wrestling with it and never perfect the journey. In a world where consequences are a moving target, we have two choices. We can spend our whole lives trying to avoid consequences, doing our best to manipulate what we experience to fit into our narrow expectations. Or, we can embrace the complexity of consequences as a manifestation of the complexity of truth in our lives. And pursue both with honesty, integrity, and humility.