Lessons from a Stick

The lamentations of so many of us, both individually and even on the larger world arena, often only is a reflection of the consequences of our individual and collective choices.
Mormon, a Pre-Columbian American Prophet, in 345 AD, has warned us that oft-times "...sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin. And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits...". (Book of Mormon, Mormon, Chapter 2, Verses 13-14)
Another American Prophet, Alma, in 73 B.C., went on to remind us to "let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down into repentance...Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility." (Book of Mormon, Alma, Chapter 42, Verses 29-30)
And so it is that some consequences of our choices are immediate and others are much less so, but nonetheless just as sure.
As a friend and mentor recently put it to me in another way, "When you pick up a stick, the other end always follows.".
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