My Law of Unintended Consequences

"The law of unintended consequences, often cited but rarely defined, is that actions of people—and especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended."   (Google)

I started pondering this yesterday morning. By this,  I mean The Law of Unintended Consequences.  A few things started developing early in my day that brought me to it.  Things we do have consequences. Things we do create results that we expect but at times are also unexpected. Some of these are good...  some not so much.

Many of mankind's greatest accomplishments come from failed attempts at an endeavor that brought about an unintended but remarkabke result.  On the other hand, many of our most valiant and well- intended efforts have brought sadness, tragedy, and horror to light where many suffered or suffer still.

Closer to home we find this peculiar concept also still at work in our daily lives. I personally think that is what is meant by the phrase, "things we do and say matter!" We already know this; we do things expecting an outcome! For some reason, we never contemplate the unintended results! Hurt feelings, broken hearts, emotional divides, betrayal, hatred and anger.

Wouldnt it be awesome if we could fast forward ahead and see the roadblocks and then reverse back to just before we do or say that thing which will ultimately derail our train if we allow it to move forward? (think James Stewart in It's A  Wonderful Life) But we cant. So, we have to get better at seeing the things that trigger the Law of Unintended Consequences in our lives. To use an old fashioned vernacular,  we have to look both ways before we cross... in this case not left and right, but at either of the two inevitable outcomes that our action will create.

We have to remember as we move along that what we say and do matters; and it does have consequences... of which not all are the ones we expect.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Conscientious or contentious...

I have been thinking about the difference between being conscientious and contentious. One means to be thoughtful about doing something the right way, while the other means to be argumentative. They are not opposites directly, but in a more figurative way they can be. I have long considered myself to be conscientious; seeking to think, speak, and act rightly. My thought has been that it is just as easy to get along as it is to create trouble or to engage in exacerbating it! While at the same time, I tend to be head strong and resolute about things of consequence to me, and often labor arduously over my position. In other words, I can be argumentative... contentious. Ironic as it is, I have the propensity to be both. I am both! Now comes the hard part; finding the balance. We should always be considerate and thoughtful, working to live out a higher purpose in our lives. And, it's okay to be passionate about what we feel and think. However,  we have to be cautious to not be comba
Read more

Surviving now...

I start a new bible study with my college career group next week and I will be teaching a fourteen week series I call, "Surviving now...Back to the Basics." As i mentally prepare to dig into this study, I am forced to ponder how this study is so relevant to what is going on in the world. I have so many concerns for what all these young adults are facing and my fear is that they will not be grounded enough to withstand the torrent of these times that they will face. As I watch the news every day, I am baffled by the insanity of a culture seeking to bury the truths that were the building blocks of its foundation while at the same time offering no replacement for it other than a me-centered philosophy wrought with hostility and abusive intolerance! Forget the polarity between liberal and conservative ideology; we have become a country full of dissensions and schisms that prohibit free or independent thinking...some day it will be the right to speak that that will no longer be fr
Read more