I saw a news piece about how gold fish in Lake Tahoe are threatening its pristine waters. We're not talking about the tiny gold fish swimming around in aquariums; these fish are one-and-one-half feet long and weigh in at four pounds. They are not indigenous to Lake Tahoe, which begs the question, “Where did all these gold fish originate?”
The theory is people, tired of caring for aquariums for whatever reason, have dumped unwanted gold fish into Lake Tahoe. They probably didn't think anything about it; gold fish are so small, they probably thought they were helping feed native fish. Now, there seems to be a very real problem that these gold fish are disrupting the natural balance God created.
In the same way generations of aquarium dumping has resulted in an unbalanced environment, so, too, do our actions today affect later generations. There is study after study regarding domestic violence in one generation is more likely to continue in the following generations. Drug or alcohol abuse today can cause entire generations to become addicts. Families that are dysfunctional today were caused generations earlier by one fateful act.
We don't realize what we do today can have a cascading, and sometimes catastrophic, effect on future generations. The fall of Adam and Eve has had a catastrophic effect on the entire world. Through them, sin was born in each human. The nation of Israel bitterly complained after God delivered them from the servitude of Egypt. As a result, they all wandered in the desert for 40 years.
 However, great things can be a result of our actions today. Ruth cared for her mother-in-law and left her family, friends, and way of life in Moab to be with Naomi in Judah. Ruth showed love, compassion, and fealty toward Naomi. As a result, even though Ruth was considered a “foreigner”, she is listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
Although we don't seem to think much of tomorrow, we should remember our actions today will have a ripple effect on the world around us, whether it is in our family, country, or in our environment. We should be careful about where we dump our gold fish.