Murphy’s Laws are observations about life that seem to have the weight of experience behind them. You’ve probably heard this one: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Here’s another one: “You can’t do just one thing; everything has its consequences.”

My own experience seems to confirm many of Murphy’s Laws, but it’s that second one that I would hang on the wall as a motto. Wrong choices have their consequences. For example, if a man or woman chooses to live for pleasure, that will affect their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (Exodus 20:4-5). If you walk away from God, you may discover that your children have taken that trip with you. Later, even if you return to Him, they may not.

But there is also good news. Devotion to the Lord has its consequences too. Men and women who live in faith before God can have a strong influence on their children and their children’s children. If they live a long life, they can witness the effect their faith has had on several generations. What satisfaction it brings to older people to see their posterity living for Christ!

So Murphy and the Bible agree on this point: “You can’t do just one thing; everything has its consequences.”  —HWR