Lesson 6 - There Are Consequences

Introduction

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

It’s helpful to identify the different sources of the stressors we fave; answering the question, “Where do they come from?” can help us to be forewarned.

It’s beneficial to identify the common wrong responses to stressors in general - but, in particular, it’s even more useful to identify the kings of ungodly responses to which we personally are more prone.

By including in His Word both many statements about the consequences of certain actions and many examples of people who made bad choices and suffered serious, unpleasant consequences, God is trying to do two things.

First, He is trying to prevent us from making the same mistakes over and over again.

Second, He is trying to motivate us to make wise choices.

Here, then, are a few of the serious consequences of the wrong responses to stress.

Consequence #1: Poor Relationships with People

You show me a person who is characterized by displaying the fruit of the Spirit as he faces the stressors of life, and I will show you a person who is well respected by people, has a good marriage and a good family, and has many good friends. On the other hand, you show me a person who responds to stress by doing the opposite of what Ephesians 4:31 tells us, and I’ll show you a person who has problems in his relationships with people.

Ephesians 4:31 KJV 1900

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Consequence #2: Stultification of Spiritual Growth

…if your conscience is functioning properly, and if you have not repented, confessed, and sought forgiveness, your spiritual appetite, sensitivity, and receptiveness will be affected. Stultification of our spiritual growth is the inevitable result.

In light of what God has said in many passages of Scripture, it can’t be otherwise. Mark 4 asserts that the cares and anxieties of this world choke the Word and make it unfruitful.

Mark 4:19 KJV 1900

19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

1 Peter 3:7 KJV 1900

7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

If a man is not living with his wife in an understanding, caring, and respectful way, his devotional life will be hindered.

James 1:20–25 KJV 1900

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

If we don’t deal with the sin patterns in our lives, we will not receive the blessing that God intends us to have through His Word. If we don’t deal with our sin, God won’t hear us; and - guess what? - we won’t hear from God through His Word either.

Proverbs 28:13 KJV 1900

13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Consequence #3: Lack of Spiritual Usefulness

A clear passage on this matter is 2 Timothy 2:21

2 Timothy 2:21 KJV 1900

21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

This verse teaches that if a person doesn’t cleanse herself from what God calls wickedness and ungodliness, she will not be a vessel that honors God and is honored by God in her ministry for Christ. If such a person doesn’t cleanse himself, he won’t be useful to the Master or prepared for every good work.

Luke 8:14 KJV 1900

14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

People who typically and frequently respond to the stressors of life in any of the ungodly ways described in the previous lesson are like the fig tree described in Matthew 21. This tree had leaves but bore no fruit.

Matthew 21:19–21 KJV 1900

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

They are like the farmer who sows a lot of seeds but never seems to get any of it to germinate. They are, in the words of Jude 12...

Jude 12 KJV 1900

12 These are spots in your feasts of charity when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 4:12 are very appropriate at this point.

1 Timothy 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

In other words, if you want to have a fruitful ministry, you’d better be a model of how the power of the gospel makes you different on the inside and outside, in your actions and reactions. If you don’t handle stress differently than unbelievers do, don’t expect to make an impact for Christ.

Consequence #4: Hindered Occupational and Educational Achievements

Many competent people have lost job after job because they have frequently responded to stress in some of the ungodly ways described in the last chapter. Or, if they haven’t been dismissed from their jobs, they at least have not advanced them, because they’re so uptight, nervous, easily flustered, annoyed, fearful, or anxious. They just can’t handle the pressure, they have extreme reactions to criticism, and consequently they’r overlooked when it comes to matter of advancement.

Consequence #5: Physical Problems

Scripture and modern science both agree on the serious consequences that the wrong responses to stress can have on the human body.

Proverbs 12:25 KJV 1900

25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: But a good word maketh it glad.

Proverbs 14:30 KJV 1900

30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: But envy the rottenness of the bones.

Proverbs 17:22 KJV 1900

22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: But a broken spirit drieth the bones.

…Dr. Smith’s diagram that illustrates the manner in which the physical part of us is affected by our responses to the stressors in our lives.

We encounter life experiences, such as...

Problems we experience

Pressures we face

Difficulties we encounter

Trials that come our way

Our evaluation of these experiences and reaction to them produces effects on the body in the...

Mouth - e.g., dry mouth

Heart - e.g., increased heart rate

Lungs - e.g., deep breathing or even hyperventilating, breathing difficulties

Muscles - e.g., tenseness, tightness, cramps

Intestinal Tract - e.g., cramps, diarrhea, constipation, colitis

Discussion Questions

List the destructive consequences of ungodly responses to stress mentioned in this lesson.

What impacts or effects do these wrong responses have on us? In what ways do they really hinder us?

Besides the consequences described in this chapter, can you think of any other consequences of wrong responses to stress?

Can you give an illustrations (whether yourself or someone else) experiencing any of the consequences discussed in this chapter?

How could you use the material in this lesson in your own life or with other people?

In your judgment, what were the most important concepts or insights presented in this chapter?