When men and women put themselves forward in political elections, if successful, they take on great responsibility.
The law of the land is already there, and they not only must uphold those laws, but they will be required to enact new laws, if deemed necessary.
Law is vital in any civilised society to avoid anarchy; most people will accept that, although we do hear of elected politicians who break the law and suffer the consequences. Others just break the law, hoping to get away with their infraction.
When it comes to the Law of God, mainstream Christianity in general dismisses this as not being necessary, since it teaches that Jesus has done it all for us! How blessed are we in the Church of God to know that we DO have to keep God’s Law!
Law is a vital part of life, whether people like it or not.
And then there is the law of unintended consequences.
The Tutor2u website gives this definition: “The law of unintended consequences refers to the idea that actions or decisions can have unforeseen and unintended consequences, often in ways that are not immediately apparent. This can occur because complex systems often have multiple interconnected parts, and a change in one part of the system can have ripple effects that are difficult to predict.” They give a number of examples, two of which are as follows:
- The minimum wage: A policy to increase the minimum wage may be intended to help low-wage workers, but it could also lead to unintended consequences such as businesses reducing their workforce or raising prices to offset the higher labor costs.
- Prohibition: The prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s was intended to reduce crime and social problems, but it had many unintended consequences, including the growth of organized crime and an increase in the consumption of illegal and potentially dangerous alcoholic beverages.
There are many examples on the internet. One was about India’s vultures, and it read as follows:
“In the mid-1990s India’s population of vultures began to die in droves. At first it was thought the animals were being killed off by a mysterious disease, but the culprit was eventually identified as an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac that was being administered to sick cattle.
“As the vultures scavenged meals from the cows that didn’t pull through, they consumed small quantities of the drug. A vulture’s stomach acid is capable of dissolving anthrax and cholera bacteria, but the slightest trace of diclofenac causes their kidneys to fail. In a matter of just a few years India’s vulture population plummeted from 40 million to just 100,000 birds.
“In India cattle are raised almost exclusively for dairy rather than meat, so when the beasts die their carcasses are left for scavengers. When the vultures all but disappeared, food was in plentiful supply for the millions of feral dogs that roam India in packs. More dogs meant more humans being bitten, and this in turn led to an increase in fatalities from rabies.
“The Indian Government banned the use of diclofenac in 2006, but the damage may prove to be irreversible. Despite the efforts of conservationists several species of vultures remain critically endangered.”
There were quite a few unintended consequences in that story.
Bringing this right up-to-date, we read on thewoof.org how recent events in the USA have had such awful unintended circumstances for those animals which cannot look after themselves:
“One of the administration’s executive orders focuses on intensifying immigration enforcement, leading to an uptick in deportations and detentions. This surge has resulted in numerous pets being abandoned or surrendered when their owners are detained or deported.
“Animal shelters, especially in areas with large immigrant populations, are witnessing an influx of these displaced pets, stretching their already limited resources. The Guardian highlights cases where pets are left behind due to sudden deportations, emphasizing the emotional and logistical challenges faced by both the animals and shelter workers.”
Did the Trump administration even consider these consequences in their race to impose draconian measures that have been compared to Nazi Germany in the 1930s? Probably not, but if they did, it would show how little regard they have for the welfare of God’s creatures. Galatians 6:7 is clear: “…whatsoever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Those involved will be held accountable for not only these appalling actions but all the others that are currently being foisted on the human race with no regard for the welfare of some of God’s creatures.
BBC News reported on 12th April 2025 that “An animal sanctuary has said it is bracing itself for ‘another tidal wave of rescue cases’ if Donald Trump’s trade tariffs put extra financial pressure on UK pet owners.
“Woodlands Animal Sanctuary in Holmeswood, Lancashire, said existing cost-of-living pressures had made the past winter much busier than previous years, and that its cattery was full by March.
“The sanctuary said 90% of the animals it had taken in were given up by owners who could no longer afford to keep them or who were facing eviction from their homes.”
There are so many problems in the world today, and decisions taken on another matter, in another country, can have devastating effects elsewhere.
Animal welfare is just one of them, but it can be heartbreaking to consider that because of the law of unintended consequences, decisions taken about one issue can unexpectedly affect those which completely rely on man for their existence.
There seems to be, so much of the time, very little kindness in the world today, and the treatment of animals is right up there with so many other examples. Kindness is a godly quality, mentioned many times in the Bible, and one that can be most ignored. And recent events where people are arrested without regard for the welfare of the animals affected and left behind is just one of so many actions that would come under the law of unintended consequences.
We can learn from this so that when we make decisions, we consider every facet that that decision will bring about. This is especially true in our spiritual lives which must be of paramount importance.
When Jesus returns and sets up the soon-coming Kingdom of God, decisions will then be made on a godly basis with every consideration taken into account when action is required, and the law of unintended consequences will not be applicable!