For Every Action, a Reaction Follows

“And God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ And God saw everything that He had made and behold; it was very good” (Genesis 1:28, 31).

Flies, bees, ants, wasps, snakes, and weeds are a few nuisances we contend with where we live, not to mention the occasional armadillos, June bugs, roaches, and spiders. At the beginning of creation, these creatures were not offensive. At the beginning of creation, there were no aches and pain, strenuous labor, separation from God, or death. Thank you, Adam and Eve.

In six days, the Creator, the Triune God, completed the creation of everything. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart because He rested from creating. All God made was perfect; He walked and talked with Adam and Eve until the man and woman He put in charge of Eden’s Garden yielded to the serpent’s carefully crafted lies. They had the privilege of choice and chose to disobey their Maker, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God cursed the serpent for his actions and gave Eve disturbing news of her disobedience. And God cursed the ground because Adam listened to his wife and ate the forbidden fruit. Their wrong decisions caused God to expel them from the paradise they enjoyed. They severed perfect fellowship with God and had to contend with hard work, thistles, thorns, pain, and death (3:14–19). God’s creative works that He declared “very good” would now cause grief.

Let’s not judge too harshly. Like the first couple on earth, you and I broke perfect harmony with God that one moment we decided to say or do something we knew was wrong, no matter what age that was. But praise God, He sent Jesus to remedy our sin problem—God forgives, cleanses us, and restores our fellowship when we invite Him into our lives. But sin’s consequences still happen, and unfortunately, like Adam and Eve, our wrong choices will be costly to someone or something. For every action and decision we make, a reaction follows. Seeking God’s will and choosing obedience is always best.