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Once upon a time an otter rushed before the king and cried out, "My lord, you are a king who loves justice and rules fairly. You have established peace among your kingdom, yet now there is no peace." "Who has broken the peace?" inquired the king. "The weasel," answered the otter. "I dove into the lake to hunt for food for my children, leaving them in the care of the weasel. While I was gone, my children were killed. 'An eye for an eye,' the Good Book says. I demand vengeance!" The king thus sent for the weasel, who soon appeared before the monarch. "You have been charged with the death of the otter's children. How do you plead?" demanded the king. The weasel began to weep and said, "Alas, my Lord, I am responsible for the death of the otter's children, though it was clearly an accident. As I heard the woodpecker sound the danger alarm, I rushed to defend my land and in so doing trampled the otter's children by accident."

Hearing this the king summoned the woodpecker and asked, "Is it true that you sounded the alarm with your mighty beak?" "It is true, my Lord," replied the woodpecker. "I began the alarm when I spied the scorpion sharpening his dagger." Then the scorpion appeared before the king and was asked if he had sharpened his dagger. When the scorpion stated it was true, the king responded, "Do you understand that such an action is a declaration of war?" "I understand," replied the scorpion, "but I prepared myself only because I observed the turtle polishing his armor." But the turtle, when summoned by the king, said in his defense, "I would not have polished my armor had I not observed the crab preparing its sword." The king thus asked the crab, "Were you preparing your sword?" The crab declared in his own defense, "I saw the lobster swinging its javelin and thus I readied my sword." But the lobster, when he appeared before the king, explained, "I began to swing my javelin when I saw the otter swimming toward my children, preparing to devour them." Thus, the king turned to the otter and said, "You, not the weasel, are the guilty party. The blood of your children is upon your head. Whoever sows death shall reap it."

The otter never considered that its action against the lobster would have such consequences. It never thought beyond its limited purview; it could not possibly fathom that it had done anything wrong. The story of the otter's children provides an important illustration of what a thoughtless act can produce. It also serves to warn us that we must seriously consider the consequences and ramifications of our actions. It was true for the Hebrews during the time of the prophet Jeremiah and it is true today as well.

God's frustration over the Hebrews' apparent disregard for their actions brims over into a powerful indictment against the nation of Judah. The people, especially the religious leaders, have been warned for centuries by the Judges, the Kings, and most recently the Prophets that God is displeased with the faithlessness of the people. Idolatry is rampant as people worship Baal, the god of their pagan neighbors, and set up shrines to false gods on the high places. Religious leaders and others in positions of power, wealth, and authority, regularly oppress the poor which places them even further on the margins of society. People have transgressed the law and made no effort to seek reconciliation with God. Thus, the Lord speaks an oracle against Judah, stating that it will be a doomed nation upon which God's wrath and judgment will fall.

The prophet forecasts a future of great gloom for Judah and its people. He says the Hebrews in Judah have been foolish, not knowing God, and demonstrating how skilled they are in perpetuating evil. God will abandon the people and the manifestations of this reality will be many. The birds will leave the land and with them their joyful song. The rich and fruitful land, once flowing with milk and honey, will become an empty waste and a desert. Cities which once flourished will be laid in ruin. The hills will quake and the earth will be made a waste and a void.

God's promised response to the actions of the people should have been no surprise. The on-again off-again relationship the Hebrews experienced with Yahweh led to punishment along the way. More than once during the period of the Judges, the people had fallen victim to the power of outsiders because Israel was unfaithful. Only when a Judge arose did the people begin to conform once again to God's law. The nation of Judah had seen the consequences of a nation's lack of faithfulness to God when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. Yet it seems that the message of the loss of the ten northern tribes played no significant role in the conversion of the people of Judah. They never considered that a similar fate could be their lot if they failed to follow God's plan. They seemingly could not understand that there are consequences for their actions.

We live in a world of great beauty and opportunity, but a world which at times can be filled with fear, problems, and many challenges. Too often we go about our business with no thought of the source of both the beauty and the pain. God, the giver of all good gifts, provides us with the opportunity, talents, and time to do our small part to build God's kingdom in our world. Too often we feel, however, that all has been provided for us, and we come to believe that we are in control. We fail to consider how the things we do may affect others. Our attitude of superiority sometimes gets in the way. There is, however, a Hasidic tale that demonstrates the folly of such an understanding of life: Late one evening Rabbi Naftali was out for a walk. As he strolled the neighborhood, he met a watchman walking back and forth at his post. The rabbi asked, "For whom do you work?" The man told the rabbi the name of his employer, but then he continued. "And, Rabbi, for whom do you work?" The watchman's words struck at the heart of the rabbi, who replied, "I am not sure whether I work for anyone or not." Rabbi Naftali walked in silence with the watchman for some time. He then asked the watchman, "Will you come and work for me?" "Oh, Rabbi, I would be honored to be your servant," said the watchman, "but what would be my duties?" The rabbi answered softly, "You must keep reminding me of your question, for I have come to know now that I, like all people, must work for God."

Since we have been given so much we must never forget the reality that God's gifts are given to be used properly. Consequences certainly exist for ourselves based on our actions and work. Right and proper use of God's gifts and effective management of our responsibilities will please God and lead to a pleasant future. If, on the other hand, we squander God's gifts and/or abuse the responsibilities we have been given, the consequences may be devastating. In a similar way, our actions that affect others will also be placed in the crucible of God's judgment and we must be ready. A popular short story by the famous nineteenth-century American writer O. Henry illustrates God's judgment and the consequences for our actions.

Once there was a little girl whose mother had died. Each day the child waited for her father to arrive home from work, for the one thing she desired most was to sit in her father's lap and cuddle up to him. She was emotionally starved and desperate for affection. Each night, however, her father followed the same routine. He prepared dinner, ate with his daughter, washed the dishes, and then plopped into his favorite chair and read until bedtime. When his daughter came to sit in his lap, he would always give the same reply, "Honey, Daddy is too tired. I have worked hard all day. Why don't you go outside and play with your friends?" The girl went outside and amused herself as best she could. As one might expect, the inevitable happened. As the girl grew older she accepted expressions of affection from anyone and everyone who offered them. Finally, instead of playing in the street, she became a prostitute. One day the girl died from an overdose. She approached the gates of heaven and Saint Peter said to Jesus, "She's a bad one, Lord. You know she was a prostitute and died of a drug overdose. I guess that leaves only one place for her." Jesus, however, surprised Peter in saying, "Let her into heaven, but when her father's time for judgment comes hold him responsible for what happened in her life."

God's message of severe displeasure with Judah and the Lord's prediction of doom came about because the Hebrews were too "blind" to see the consequences of their actions. In our Teflon-coated society, in which we often hear people say, "It's her fault not mine," we often fail to take responsibility for and consider the ramifications of our actions. We are like the otter and in a knee-jerk reaction too often blame others and ask for restitution for problems of our own creation. Let us, therefore, learn a lesson and never forget the consequences of our actions. God can punish, but God always loves. Let us love God in return by loving others and taking responsibility for our actions, today and each day of our lives.