Unintended Consequences & Immediate Gratification

The desire for instant gratification comes with a set of blinders at no extra charge. If what I want is what I want and I must have it now then there is little or no thought given to what happens when I get what I want. Blinders result in being blindsided.

David gave no thought to what would happen after he had Bathsheba. Amnon could focus only on Tamar and never stopped to think that his lust would cost him his life. Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, thought only of the acclamation they would receive from people and thought nothing of lying to the Holy Spirit.

These individuals thought only of their immediate cravings. This is exactly what the enemy wants!

Parents, it is your job to help take the blinders off for your children, and perhaps, for yourselves as well. For example, if your main desire is a child that will not embarrass you, then you too are blinded. You will fail to see the damage that your desire for good behavior is doing to your children.

Instead, be like the father in Proverbs 7 who helped his son take off the blinders that sexual lust imposes. He didn’t play it safe. He did what was necessary to warn his son that there is more to sexual sin than a few moments of pleasure. By doing so he gave creditability to his words.

Help your children to remove the blinders.  Only the pursuit of biblical wisdom will let them see all that there is to see. Go over the narratives mentioned above. Show your children the blindness caused by immediate gratification. Help them to see the beauty and safety of self-denial. The world we live in wants it all now. Take off the blinders so that you and your kids can see the world for the death trap that it is.

Shepherd Press