Unintended Consequences

I watched this movie once (well, I've seen it several times). A man is leaning against a wall at a school. He hears this bell ringing and he's wondering why the children aren't coming out if the bell is ringing - he's looking around. The fact is that while he is "just leaning against the wall" - that is *all* he is doing - the result is that by leaning on that exact spot, he is actually leaning on the school bell. But he's not *ringing* the bell, he's leaning against the wall.

Many people can be doing a particular thing, but the outcome can still have unintended results. Good and bad. And we must be responsible for those results, because we are the ones who committed the initial action.

I might just be working on the computer or sewing all day, but the result, if I'm not totally careful, is that my housekeeping falls apart and my children get no time with me.

I might just be driving totally legally but if I'm not watching for the sides of the road too, I might hit a deer. Unintended result - even when watching for the things.

If I were married and I spent a few hours with a man who was not my husband, perhaps someone from church who doesn't have a car or can't drive and needs help with errands or getting to/from work, my husband might not be happy with that and other people in the community may have other thoughts about the situation. Regardless of community opinion, I wouldn't be meeting the needs of my husband and children.

If I have a beautiful gift from God before me and I choose to act as if it doesn't matter, or act as though it will always be there, or act as though I'm not focused on it out of fear that the gift might distract me from God, or treat that gift poorly because it's just a material thing, if that gift can provide me with something that God wants me to have and I choose to look elsewhere for what that gift was intended to give - well, I'm not honoring God, though my intention *is* only to honor God.

I might just be swinging my arms around and spinning around - and then the vase of flowers falls over and shatters with flowers, water and glass everywhere. I didn't intend for that result, but it happened, and I am the responsible party.

Every action has consequences. Good and bad. We are responsible for them.

Think before you act.

The Israelites were just walking around the walls - while they intended to defeat Jericho, they had no way of knowing that *just* walking would knock those walls! They still take full responsibility for knocking down those walls, although *all* they were doing was obeying God's command to "Keep Walking!""