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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 17, 2010
“Consider the Outcome of Your Conduct”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Consider the outcome of your conduct.
In other words, don’t just think about what you feel like doing, but also think about the consequences.
Maybe you feel like eating a whole box of Krispy Kreme donuts, but consider the outcome of your conduct.
Pregnant teenagers probably did not consider the outcome of their conduct.
But that’s hard for teenagers, isn’t it? They know what they feel like doing right now, but the consequences? That’s hard for them to imagine.
In fact, I think it’s hard for most of us to imagine. It’s hard for us to picture a place we’ve never been.
So here’s a little tool that can help. Just ask yourself this little two-word question.
Then what?
Asking “then what?” helps you think through the chain of events that lead from now into your future.
If you don’t like the outcome of the “then what?” then don’t do the action.
Several years ago a country artist named Clay Walker came out with a song by that title, “Then What.” It’s written to a man who’s thinking about cheating on his wife, but before he does, the singer tells him to consider this little two-word question. Here’s the chorus:
(play chorus of Then What by Clay Walker)
“Then what?
What you gonna do,
When the new wears off and the old shines through,
And it ain’t really love and it ain’t really lust,
And you ain’t anybody anybody’s gonna trust.
Then what?
Where you gonna turn,
When you can’t turn back for the bridges you’ve burned…”
And he finishes by repeatedly asking the question, “Then what? Oh-oh then what?”
Just think it through. That’s what he’s saying. Look at the end of the road before you go down it.
I guess Clay or his wife didn’t take that advice because they ended up divorced, he remarried, and now has children by two different women. It’s a tangled up situation that may have been avoided if he would have truly considered the outcome of his conduct, even before he married his first wife.
Now I know we can’t see everything that lies ahead, no matter which road we take. But here is one thing we can do. We can look at those who already took that road and see where it led them.
For example, are you thinking about dropping out of high school? Then what? And if you don’t know the answer, then look at others who already did. Look at those who dropped out three, four and five years ago. Where are they now? Is that where you want to go?
Hebrews 13:7 indicates that we should look at good, godly leaders, then do this: consider the outcome of their conduct.
When I look at the truly godly people I know, I like the outcome of their conduct. I like their marriage and their family. I like their ethics. I like their faith and their overall attitude about life. And since I like where they are, I want to adopt the conduct that got them there.
On the flip side, there are many people who ended up in places I don’t want to go. I will also consider the outcome of their conduct, and I will try to avoid it.
It’s a simple message, really. It’s just thinking things through. It’s always asking, “Then what?”
And here’s what happens when you string together enough “then whats.”
“I’ll graduate from college.”
Then what?
“I’ll get a good job.”
Then what?
“I’ll get married and have kids.”
Then what?
“I’ll raise them and get them out of the house.”
Then what?
“I’ll retire and enjoy myself.”
Then what?
I guess I’ll die.
Then what?
Yes, then what, after you die? That’s where all the “then whats” end up.
Second Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
So think it through, and think it through to the end. The things I do today, how will they stack up on judgment day? That’s the ultimate end of the “then what” query.
Think about your actions. Think about their consequences.
And be inspired by this little precept based on Hebrews 13:7.
Consider the outcome of your conduct.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
(close with end of Then What by Clay Walker)
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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