The Things We Say and Do

 Good afternoon, and welcome to windy Kansas.  I’m doing this thought on Friday afternoon, and the wind has come up from the south hot and strong.  I’m not sure of the temperature, but it feels like middle 90’s out there.  What a change from just a couple of days ago when we were dealing with flooding rains, downed trees, and low clouds.

 I’ve been thinking this week about something we rarely, it seems think about until it’s too late.  The things we say and do, or conversely don’t say and don’t do, often have far-reaching effects far beyond our own sphere, and often beyond anything we could ever have imagined.  I’m thinking this week specifically of things we might do that are in some way contrary to ethics, morals, and right living, but this can also apply to things we do that are good, kind, right, and decent.

 Think for example of some kind of sexual indiscretion done by someone to or with another.  That kind of thing can easily “blow up,” so to speak, and involve not only those two who were involved, but also spouses of the two, families, friends, fellow employees and employers, and can also involve law enforcement, the court system, and have far-reaching consequences for decades to come.

 Or think of something good and decent.  Think of someone who goes a little “above and beyond,” and for example buys a tank of gasoline for someone else who couldn’t afford it at the time.  That too can have far-reaching ripple effects in that person now being able to go to work, not losing his or her job because of absence, take kids to the doctor, or one of any number of things that would require transportation in this modern day.

 The job thing…if that person could keep her job, she wouldn’t be evicted from her apartment because she couldn’t pay the rent.  She wouldn’t be homeless.  Her kids would continue to have food on the table.  She could get medication for herself or her family.  And the list of good ripple effects just goes on and on because someone decided to spend a few dollars on a tank of gasoline for someone else.

 The things we say and do, or conversely don’t say or don’t do, can even have effects far down the road…years and even decades later.  An entire generation may be in a different place and situation far in the future because of a small gesture of kindness or because of some kind of indiscretion or moral or ethical failure.

 The same goes, for those who are Christians, for prayer.  Prayer today has the ability to change things for many people…both now and in the future.  It humbles me to know that the prayers of my grand parents, aunts, uncles, Sunday School teachers, and parents decades ago may well be influencing who I am and what I am doing today.  That even my ancestors farther back…centuries ago…may have been praying for their descendants to come much later, and those prayers may be influencing my life right now.

 Remember, God does not change, and God is timeless.  When fervent prayers are said now by, as James says in his New Testament letter, “a righteous person” for unknown people 200 years in the future, God knows…God remembers…and God acts.

 This week has reminded me that I need to not only be aware of those things I say and do…I also need to understand the possible far-reaching effects those actions or inactions have on possible multitudes of others.  And I need to understand that prayer indeed has the power to be effective, not only in the here and now, but for decades and possible centuries to come.  What a wondrous thought that is.

 Blessings.