That quote is from the 1994 Newsboys song Truth and Consequences. Showing my age, but uh, great album! The truth is though, consequences are often unintended, and they can hurt a lot of people.

Did you see the first post in this series with the illustration from C.S. Lewis‘ The Magicians Nephew? (affiliate link) It so clearly depicts unintended consequences.
We’re going back to that classic story and this time, the results have impacted an entire world:
“Son of Adam,” said the Lion. “There is an evil Witch abroad in my new land of Narnia. Tell these good Beasts how she came here.”
Aslan
The truth is, we have a “beast” loose in our world, too and we should talk about that.
You Have a Sworn Enemy
To put it plainly, you and I have a sworn enemy who has nothing to lose and exists solely to kill, steal and destroy. He accomplishes this by sneaking, prowling and hunting “like a lion” for the next victim to rip apart. In a loose nutshell, that’s the root reason why you have so much life junk to deal with.
But despite that enemy, there is the hope you’ll find in Jesus Christ.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10
Steal. Kill. Destroy. Plus, you and I are kinda like sheep that walk blindly, inadvertently, unintentionally right into the teeth of the enemy. This enemy is not unlimited in power and authority, but make no mistake. He is very real, and deserves caution.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8
Welcome to the Fallen Human Race
Hold on a moment. Before you make Satan the total scapegoat, there’s a bit of personal responsibility we need to get to first. That brings us to the truth about the consequences of sin.
The struggles that you endure and the constant battles in life are the unintended consequences of a fallen race. Congratulations. You and I have inherited a curse. And sin has done an exceptional job of placing each and every generation, from creation until today, under the legal and binding curse of sin.

It took God becoming man to provide the innocent blood of a Savior to pay for and undo that horrible mess. But you and I still have the aftermath of a curse that wars against each one of us until the end.
Paul writes in Romans chapter 7 that he observes a law of sin inside of us that is in conflict with the other law in our minds, which makes us prisoners to the sin law that pre-exists in our members, or in other words, our flesh.
“For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
Romans 7:22-23
You’ll find James on the same subject in his epistle where he says,
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:1; 4:4
Sounds like war talk to me, what do you think?
Good news, though! Your foe is a defeated enemy that just keeps arrogantly battling against the blood of Christ that has soundly defeated him.
Call this a hunch, but I believe if we had a true glimpse of the limitations placed on the enemy by the victory of Christ over sin and death, it would be game over. In other words, Satan wouldn’t get away with much of the junk in your life and in this world that he now enjoys.
Yet, perhaps to bring further glory to the God that loves and redeemed us from this legal and binding curse, the struggle is allowed. Maybe it’s because without such strife, there can be no victory.
And when God gives you victory over something which you are powerless over, the glory is the Lord’s.
There’s more to come. In the third and final article in this series dealing with unintended consequences, I’m going to further expose this enemy and give you a combat plan.
I can’t promise another Narnia or Newsboys quote, but who knows… it may be there!
Every time I overcome one struggle it seems another pops up. This is a very discouraging war. I keep praying. Thank God I am where I am and not where I was or I’m not so sure I’d make it. Great article Gene. Thanks!
You’re definitely not alone, Mike! It does seem like no matter how far I’ve come in my walk with the Lord, the simplest, dumbest things still trip me up from time to time. Like you, I keep praying, plus I try to keep worship in my heart and mind. Good music helps!