What goes around, comes around

By Jim Killebrew

[April 15, 2014]  What goes around, comes around is almost the way of history. Eventually something that happens will return and happen again — maybe not exactly the same way, but close enough that it can be related to the same incident. Things have a tendency to come full cycle. It is a truth that a person's actions will have consequences for that person and others close to that person.

Throughout history we have seen one nation after another fall under the crushing blow of a more powerful nation, just to see that powerful nation suffer the same fate years later as it is crushed. We develop sayings such as, “You live by the sword, you die by the sword,” and we witness that time after time. We have seen this common theme even in families, as one generation follows after the "sins of the father being repeated by the sins of the son."

Once caught up in the spiral of evil, it is almost like the trap is sprung to devour those in it; even the next generation. As sociologists and criminologists study the effects of greed, deception and violence,  along with loyalty and unity among gangs in America, especially in the largest cities, they find that once in the gang, a person cannot simply walk away when they have had enough. There is always retaliation and retribution to pay, sometimes even with execution. It is rare that a person can walk with evil and simply slip away from it individually without being sought after by that evil.

In a materialistic world where wealth is the measure of a person's value, there are seemingly no standards that cannot be broken. Yet, there are also no safety nets that are strong enough to protect.

It is sometimes ironic how justice seems to turn the corner just in time to even up the scales again. The world is replete with greed and ill-gotten gain, treasures that seem to flow like bees to flowers to the wicked. But ultimately God administers judgment and justice to purveyors of wealth that is received unjustly by dishonesty and causes it to lose its profit. There is no payoff with diminishing value of riches obtained by cheating others.

Witness the final outcome for those whose Ponzi schemes are finally discovered.

God is righteous and He is in control. In the final analysis the righteousness of God and the power of His Spirit brings honesty and ultimately reduces wickedness to its rightful place. Honesty banishes greed; honesty wipes clean the infestation of lies and mortal danger. It is only when we place ourselves in the hands of the righteous God and allow Him to practice His honesty in our lives will we be delivered from mortal danger. Others with a worldly history may continue to have a grasp on our lives with illness, injury or old debts to pay, but wrapped up in the life of righteousness and God's protective hand, we will finally escape the grasp of evil, to be delivered to peace and tranquility for all eternity.

"Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from mortal danger." — Proverbs 10:2

Chase not after the temporal riches of this world, but rather hide your spirit safely in the spirit of the honest God.

[By JIM KILLEBREW]