We all face choices every day. And most of us expend much time and effort in making those choices. We evaluate and weigh our options, considering the pros and cons of each decision we need to make, and, eventually, we come to a conclusion and take the appropriate actions.
I wanted to share with the reader a phenomenon I had discovered earlier in my walk with the Lord that seems to be universal in nature.
There is a Pro and a Con for Virtually Everything in Our Fallen World
I cannot tell you how many times I have said to my friends, family, and acquaintances during everyday conversations that it is as if there is a pro and a con for virtually everything in our fallen world. Have you ever thought about this yourself and considered the ramifications and the truth behind this observation?
I challenge the reader to take some time and think on this truth in the coming week. It truly is a very interesting mental exercise. If you do take up this challenge and would like to share your thoughts with me, please do not hesitate to reach out. I always love to hear from my brothers and sisters!
I would like to offer the reader a sampling of what I am speaking of that should get in motion your own ponderings on this subject.
Familiar Pros and Cons in Everyday Life
Here are just a handful of examples showing the reader that there is always a pro and a con in virtually every sphere of this fallen world.
Marriage or Not: There are pros and cons to both staying single and getting married. As Paul noted – and I am paraphrasing – staying single and serving the Lord whole-heartedly is a good thing, but so is uniting with a spouse and becoming one, creating a family to love and serve God. Both, though, carry positive and negative repercussions, as we all can attest.
Family Relationships: We love – or should love – our family members more than life itself. Yet, even for believers who still struggle with our sin natures, it is often these same beloved family members that we hurt the most – or we ourselves are hurt by them – as we all tend to hurt the ones we love.
Living Habitats: When a person rents, if anything breaks down, the owner of the residence is responsible to get those things repaired and/or replaced at their expense, yet the renter builds no equity from their rental payments. Conversely, if one buys, they acquire equity in the residence; however, if anything breaks down, the owner is responsible for repairs and/or replacements at their own expense.
Employment: When one is considering a job, they might come into the prospects of a higher-paying opportunity, which is certainly a pro, but the job will usually come with extra stress and longer hours, which can be a strain on the individual and the family, which is obviously and a con. On the flip side, a job may come with less stress and shorter hours, but the wages may not be on par with the family budget.
Insurance: Insurance is great if one ever needs it, but if the insurance is never used, it becomes a total loss of expenditures.
Food: In general, junk food is delicious but can cause health problems, and healthy food is disgusting. Sorry, health food nuts, we are not buying your claims that nutritious foods are the bomb, though some are descent — on very rare occasions. All kidding aside, I stand by the general declarative statement, and I think most would back me up on this. As seems to be the case universally, all foods and drinks – including those things that are generally regarded as healthy – consumed in excess can be hazardous in one form or another in a fallen world.
Political and Societal Pros and Cons
Governments: Every form of government designed by men will have its pros and cons that, depending on those in power and how they execute their governmental policies, can benefit society or, conversely, have detrimental and dire consequences on the people they are in power to serve. Even governments that have generally been despised by the West in the past – such as Communism, Socialism, Marxism, and even Totalitarianism – can and/or should (depending on who is in charge and if they truly have benevolent aims and the people are willing to share their resources with the less fortunate) exhibit positive results for the people, though this is obviously extremely rare if it has ever happened at all.
“Power corrupts… Absolute power corrupts absolutely” is certainly a well-known and often observed maxim in virtually every human government, including in representative and democratic governments. It is just the nature of the beast in our fallen world.
War: War, when needed, can be an essential element to providing protection from those who would do others harm and will, unfortunately, always result in the loss of life. Yet war has been a means of extending and perpetuating evil as much as for protecting societal good. Each war needs to be – or should be – weighed carefully with pros and cons considered and appropriate action or non-action rendered.
Weapons and nuclear weapons: Weapons are needed in our fallen world for protection from those who would attack another person, people, or nation. Nuclear weapons are no exception, as their possession by any country should naturally result in deterrence to those who would attack them. Again, whether this would be a pro or a con rests solely on the character and mission of the person, persons, or nation who bears the weapons and how they are to be used. Consider the Words of our Lord when it comes to His own people protecting themselves and, ultimately, their families in this fallen world: “But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.” (Luke 22:36).
Policing: Much like war, policing – depending on who is doing the policing and in whose name – can be advantageous or destructive.
Protesting: Similar to wars and policing, protesting a corrupt government and/or evil policies is a virtue. Nonetheless, as we see in America today, protesting can be used in propagating evil by those who are taken in and/or deceived by wickedness.
Energy Pros and Cons: Unintended Consequences
Another way of looking at the truth of pros and cons in a fallen world is that of unintended consequences from the decisions people individually and governments collectively make.
Consider the example of renewable energies, apart from the climate change and green agenda fiasco, and energy in general.
Electric Cars: Electric cars are said to produce less pollution, yet how is the electricity generated for those EV cars? How much pollution was produced to mine those rare materials needed for the batteries, and what happens to those batteries when they die?
Solar and wind power: The idea of generating power from natural resources is very intriguing indeed. But relying on the unreliable, such as the shining of the sun and the generation of the wind, will always result in a fluctuation of production. Not to mention the fact that the power generated from these sources is utterly inferior to the power sources we have depended upon as a society for well over a hundred years.
Nuclear power: Nuclear power has always had great potential, but the fallout from accidents in a fallen world can be devastating.
Electric power: The standard by which societies have operated for well over a century, electric power, generally produced by the burning of coal, has been a wonderful source of comfort and necessity for the world. Pollution from the burning of coal, if not properly disposed of naturally or by other technologies, can certainly be problematic. The power lines that transfer the energy can also create hazardous fires.
Fuel: Fuel for cars and trucks – what some call fossil fuels, which are actually biofuels produced mainly from plants and some animals that were the by-product of the global flood and have been a gift for mankind from God – has been a huge benefit for mankind. Like electric power, however, man needs to be mindful of the potential pollution problems (not to the extent that climate extremists would go) and fire hazards that could occur, as well.
Conclusion
Above is just a sampling of what I wanted to share with the reader when they consider the truth that in a fallen world, there is always a pro and a con to virtually everything!
In concluding our theme, we should consider the spiritual and supernatural elements of pros and cons within our fallen world.
What About the Word of God and Jesus Christ?
At first, I thought that certainly Jesus Christ and the Word of God – as Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the Word of God – would be the two unique instances in our fallen world that would be without cons. But I would be wrong.
For the believer, Jesus is the ultimate Pro in our fallen world, yet there are cons associated with our salvation and walk with our Lord and Savior, as we will note below. These cons are illuminated for us in the Word of God in preparation for our living in a fallen world — in the world, but not of the world (John 17:13-18, 1 John 2:15-17).
When it comes to unbelievers, after outright rejecting Jesus Christ’s free gift offer of salvation and the truth of the Word of God, there are absolutely no pros for them going forward — unless one considers the temporary benefits many evil people procure in following the Prince of this world (John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11) until they die.
Consider Asaph’s observations in Psalm 73.
“For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
“For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.
“Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
“They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.
“Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
“Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches…
“When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” – Psalm 73:3-12, 16-17
Asaph considered the end of the wicked in the house of the Lord and found himself understanding that his concerns were without merit. Their destiny, which at first was once considered a pro in the eyes of even the righteous while they still lived, will eventually become an eternally sorrowful and burdensome con.
Satan: The Con of Cons
Satan and the fallen angels, on the other hand, are most certainly a con on every level (1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:12). I am hard-pressed to find any pro when it comes to the evil and wickedness of Satan, who is the Con of all cons, and his evil henchmen. But thanks be to God Almighty, I am saved and recognize this truth.
Yet, horrifically, there are many who worship Satan as Lucifer the Light Bearer (Isaiah 14:12-14), transforming himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). These people would include many of the elite within Secret Societies, Freemasonry, and Mormonism (which is a “Christianized” version of Freemasonry). To them, Lucifer is a pro, not to be shunned but embraced, believing that the Serpent did mankind a great service in presenting Eve with the desire to become as God, knowing good from evil, and even worshiping Lucifer as, what they consider to be, the god to be revered. Often, Satan, as the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4), will give them temporary pleasures and benefits, including wealth, power, worldly fame, and a prosperous temporal life, just as the Psalmist Asaph observed.
What these deceived and deluded people once considered a pro, however, will become the greatest con experience when they pass on into eternity and find themselves in torment in Sheol, awaiting eventual eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire following the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:10-15).
Going Full-Circle: The Greatest Choice with Eternal Ramifications
A person’s greatest choice by far, with the greatest risk-reward and pro or con ramifications, is whether to accept or reject Jesus Christ’s free gift offer of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
To the born-again Spirit-filled believer who has already accepted Christ and His sacrifice for their sins on God’s terms and has given their life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, the pros are enormous and without compare.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39
Though there are cons associated with becoming a believer in Messiah Yeshua – namely persecutions, trials, and tribulations – these can never rival the glory that will be revealed in us through Jesus Christ.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” – 2 Timothy 3:12
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:16-18
Our job, Saint, is to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they too can make the eternal decision in accepting or rejecting salvation found only in Christ Jesus.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” – Romans 10:13-15
Be wise and winneth souls, dearly beloved, directing them to the Tree of Life, which is found only in Messiah Jesus.
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” – Proverbs 11:30
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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