A recent news article told of the sad case of a young boy who got tangled up with a “rough crowd,” and wound up in jail. He was not a child; he was old enough to be more careful in his choice of friends. Decent parents, a good student, and a good record at school – all of these were in his favor. But one thing was missing. He acted without really considering where his actions would lead him, and he now rests, not very comfortably, in a youth detention center. His actions will be on his record for the rest of his life. All of his good qualities may be forgotten, and that one foolish incident could characterize the rest of his days.
When you take that hammer in your hand, you better realize that much pain can result if you are not careful. If you are wise, you will think carefully lest you bash your thumb with it. That will hurt, and it could have been avoided if you had merely considered the “latter end”, or given some thought about the possible result of your actions.
Moses warned God’s people on this same subject, saying:
“O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!”
Deuteronomy 32:29
That has been man’s weakness since the beginning. Eve may not have considered what the ultimate effect of her sin could be, but the consequences were sure and severe. She did not considerthe “latter end.” Nor did King David who, having a good “heart,” took the wife of another man – and also took the life of that other man. The result is that it is still very difficult to think of David, that brave young man who defeated Goliath, without his grievous sins of adultery and murder creeping into our mind. That is one thing that happens when one fails to “consider their latter end.”
Lot, the nephew of Abraham, did not “consider the latter end” when he chose to take his family to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He did not realize that his choice of those cities would cost him so much, Genesis 13-14, 19. His failure to “consider the latter end” cost him everything that was dear to him – his wife and his daughters.
We could add to the list many characters of the Bible narrative – men like Solomon, Jeroboam, Simon Peter and Judas.
As the body of Christ, members of Christ’s church must also think carefully in our choices, pondering the end, the result of those choices. The “latter end” may not easily be foreseen, but poor choices today can eventuate in our failure to bring our community to God’s word, and may indeed prevent them from learning and obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As our friends and neighbors see what we do and hear what we say, they can discover our priorities, and they might easily conclude that our faith is in money, possessions, or power instead of our Lord Jesus Christ. When that happens, we not only allow our “latter end” to be the loss of our soul, but also those who follow us. There is a warning written by the prophet Ezekiel. That warning is written twice in the book of Ezekiel, in chapters 3 and 33. Note the very serious responsibility that God gave to the “watchman” in this warning:
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel: therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand. Yet if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.” Ezekiel 3:17-21
In today’s modern military, this “watchman” is important, and his duty to his comrades is such that their lives are in his “hands.”
We have been given a similar responsibility: to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world,” James 1:27, and to warn others of the consequences of failure to “consider their latter end.” An ultimate judgment awaits us all. Our “adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” 1 Peter 5:8, and we must be willing to give “warning” to those also in danger from that “roaring lion.”
Mature people are willing to look at the likely result of their actions. An eternity awaits all of us, and we all want heaven to be our
“latter end."
