Several years ago—actually, almost 3 decades ago—one of my sons decided to cut his hair, an act in itself not an issue. His naturally wavy, long, thick chestnut brown hair was cropped off… again, not an issue. What came next was!
Whether the action was self-perpetrated or he fell victim at the hands of a far-too-willing friend, I have no idea. What I do know is that his beautiful hair that any woman would gladly pay mega dollars for became straw-like, thanks to the contents of a bottle that turned out to be more like bleach than colour.
Hiding under a ball cap for weeks, he lived the consequences of a very bad choice. On one occasion he experienced the rejection of a friend’s father who refused to acknowledge him—let alone speak to him—in the halls of our church. Although this mother bear did address the issue with said father, I did point out to my son that actions and consequences go hand-in-hand, and when his actions resulted in raised eyebrows, stares and even rejection, he had to admit he’d made a mistake.
Of course, in time the straw-like hair grew out and his thick, chestnut brown hair grew in.
Recently, Major League Baseball—and especially the Toronto fans—has been stunned at the suspension of Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman, Chris Colabello. Testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, he has been suspended 80 games. Is he guilty? He claims not: “I would never, have never, will never, compromise the integrity of baseball. Ever.” He goes on to say, “I hope that before anyone passes judgment on me, they can take a look at the man that I am, and everything that I have done to get to where I am in my career.” However, it seems the evidence cannot be ignored and, based on that, the decision has been made. The end result? He will not only be suspended without pay, but will be ineligible for post season play if the Blue Jays reach the playoffs again this season.
Only Chris knows the truth. If he is guilty, then justice has been served. His actions have resulted in a consequence 
that may prove detrimental to his career. If he isn’t guilty… well, that’s rather mote, isn’t it? He has been found guilty, has already been replaced and it seems that life in the baseball world will go on without him. To quote manager John Gibbon, “The thing about baseball is baseball keeps going, with or without you. One day somebody’s gone, a manager gets fired, nobody (cares) the next day.”
Actions and consequences… we live with them every day. Sometimes the things we choose to do have positive results, and the consequences are uplifting and often encouraging. When the opposite happens, we are left wishing there was a delete button in life, much like there is on the keyboard of a computer. Sadly, the only thing we can do following an action of poor judgement is to accept responsibility, learn from the error and strive to right a wrong. From the Christian perspective we can claim 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This makes us right with God. He wipes the slate clean, as it were. We are left with the memory of our actions… always, but we are forgiven.
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