A Spanish proverb says: “God says, ‘Choose what you will and pay for it.’”

Not so here in the U.S., maybe, according to at least some so-called justices. Chuck Colson in BreakPoint pointed out a few years ago just one of many similar examples when he wrote, “A young woman I’ll call Susie Smith has a weight problem: She’s five feet, six inches and weighs 270 pounds. Why does she weigh twice her healthy weight? Genetics? Poor nutrition? Lack of exercise?

“No! McDonald’s. Smith claims that she is obese because ‘her regular diet included an Egg McMuffin for breakfast and a Big Mac meal for dinner.’ And that is why she and other overweight people were suing McDonald’s.”

Back in college days for two summers I drove a CTA passenger bus in Chicago, and in our training we learned how some people would purposely fall in the bus so they could sue the bus company for damages. And these people never seem to want for a lawyer who will accept their case.

In recent days we have read how smokers have successfully sued tobacco companies for millions of dollars blaming the manufacturers for their (the smokers’) addiction! I certainly don’t approve of tobacco companies but not one of them ever made anyone buy or smoke their cigarettes. Every single smoker did so because of his/her own choice and action. And never has a McDonald’s ever made any customer buy an Egg McMuffin or a Big Mac let alone make them eat them.

What so-called justices are granting is not only absurd, it’s downright alarming. Once upon a time law, order, and justice, were based on the Judeo-Christian ethic. No longer. We’ve thrown out prayer, God, and the Bible from our schools. And there’s ever increasing pressure to have God and the Bible removed from all public places. Consequently we are now living in what has been called post-Christian America and it seems as if some lawyers and judges are making their own laws instead of adhering to the law as spelled out in the Constitution.

Consequently, personal and moral responsibility is rapidly being decimated.

If we keep heading this way, law and order based on a higher power (be it God or the Constitution—essential for the successful functioning of any society and nation) will become so eroded, we will end up like ancient Rome and every other civilization who discarded God, morality, and personal responsibility.

The Spanish proverb is correct: “God says, ‘Choose what you will and pay for it.’” Susie Smith and company did exactly what they wanted to do and are paying for it. Denial will never take off their weight nor cure their lung cancer, the result of smoking.

One thing is certain, we cannot break God’s laws and survive any more than we can break the universal law of gravity. When we attempt to, it breaks us. What we sow is what we reap! Period—even if it is eventually.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please send a revival of your Spirit to our nation so that we will return to your ways and abide by your laws. Deliver us from our self-delusional irresponsibility and help us to realize that when we defy your ways, we ultimately destroy ourselves and the world of our children’s children. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Galatians 6:7 (NASB).