Tag Archives: Punishment

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Hebrews 12

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Deutsch: Historische Federzeichnung einer schu...
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No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:11 (NLT)

I still remember many of the spankings I received as a child. I don’t remember them because they were awful or excessive or unjust in any way. Spankings were relatively few in my home and reserved for times we’d totally been caught being naughty. For the record, I also remember sitting on the bathroom sink while my mom soaped up her hands and proceeded to wash the inside of my mouth out. I deserved that, too. Funny, my sister says she can’t remember ever getting a spanking, but she did. Several times. I guess I remember those for her.

As a parent one of the most difficult parts of the journey is disciplining your children. You don’t want to be too lenient, but you don’t want to be heavy handed. Each child is different in the way they respond to it, and every circumstance is different in the severity of discipline warranted. Appropriate discipline changes with the age of the child and his or her temperament. I had one child whom I could discipline with the mere look of disappointment and another child who seemed never to admit doing or saying anything wrong….ever. Needless to say, in our home discipline sometimes required different approaches depending on the offender.

No parent disciplines perfectly.

At the same time, discipline is required. It’s required for all of us if we’re going to develop into well adjusted and behaved people. We need clear understanding of right and wrong. We need to know when we’ve done well and when we’ve crossed over the line. We need appropriate negative reinforcement along with appropriate positive reinforcement.

Today, I’m thankful for parents who knew when to punish and when to praise. I’m thankful for good kids who responded to both pats on the back and pats on the butt. As the journey draws nearer to the time when my children may be having children of their own, I pray that they will find wisdom and balance in their own parenting. As I continue my journey as a child of the Creator, I pray that I will respond appropriately to both discipline and praise all the days of my life.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Zechariah 14

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“Note well: God’s Judgment Day is on the way….” Zechariah 14:1 (MSG)

As a child, there were fewer words that hung in the air with such ominous, impending doom as “Wait until your father gets home.” Growing up in a pretty traditional household, my dad was the provider and the strict disciplinarian. My mother, you should know, was no slouch. She handled the daily policing of children deftly, and she could mete out her own effective forms of parental judgement. But, when mom made a point of deferring judgment to dad, you knew it was serious and you knew there was going to be trouble for the perpetrator (and the satisfying opportunity for the victim to see justice handed out).

The threat of impending judgement had a powerful effect. We don’t often think about, or talk about God’s judgement. At least, it’s not talked about much in my community or circles of relationships. Judgment is an uncomfortable subject in a culture that likes to look on the brighter side of life. Spiritually speaking, however, we have to know that we are all waiting for our Father to come home. God’s Message reminds us over and over and over that there will be Day of judgment, and a Day of reckoning.

As a child, I lived my day knowing that I wanted Dad’s daily homecoming to be a moment of joy and not a moment of justice. Am I doing the same now as an adult, in view of God’s promised judgment?

Am I ready?

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Numbers 25

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Lies

It started when the women invited the men to their sex-and-religion worship. They ate together and then worshiped their gods. Israel ended up joining in the worship of the Baal of Peor. God was furious, his anger blazing out against Israel. Numbers 25:2-3 (MSG)

I remember many years ago catching my youngest daughter in a lie. It was a small thing but I came down hard on her and she was visibly surprised by my earnestness in the matter. It wasn’t the small, isolated act but the principle that I wanted her to understand. When a child learns that lying is acceptable, then they can easily go down a path which leads to much larger deceptions and falsehoods. Pretty soon, you’ve wandered far off the path of truth.

It’s easy to read today’s chapter and scratch our heads at God’s anger and reaction to the actions of his followers. Baal worship was prevalent in those days. It started as a type of “fertility” worship which was common in ancient cultures. It morphed in a myriad of ways as it spread through middle eastern tribes and regions. What it became was an ongoing, blasphemous sexual free-for-all. And, when the Baal followers sexual “worship” produced babies, they would sacrifice the baby to Baal by burning the baby alive. Unbridled and unrestricted sex with no responsibility for the outcome. (Hmmm, the more things change…..)

Like a loving parent, God knew that Baal worship would lead His children down a tragic path that would be incredibly destructive to the entire nation. I have to believe that in this early confrontation between God and Baal, God wanted his young nation to understand how serious He was about avoiding entanglements with Baal worship.

Today I’m reminded that even when it seems that my Heavenly Father is being unfair or harsh, He knows the plans He has for me. They are plans for life and hope, and I can trust His will.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Amos 1

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God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem! The thunderclap voice withers the pastures tended by shepherds, shrivels Mount Carmel’s proud peak. Amos 1:1-2 (MSG)

There is a certain balancing act required in being a good father. A soft-sided love lived out in active affection, grace, and lovingkindness is certainly necessary. But, a hard-sided love modeled by firm justice and, at times, righteous anger is equally needed. One side without the other leads to all sorts of negative consequences for everyone.

It is sometimes difficult to wrap our arms around the God of judgement characterized by the prophets like Amos. Amos reveals the hard-sided love of the Heavenly Father. As I read today’s chapter, I could almost hear dad yelling “ENOUGH!” as every child within earshot is suddenly aware that they are in big trouble.

A loving father loves his children enough to protect them at need from their own foolishness and, when appropriate, to hand out just consequences to teach his children the error of their ways. As an earthly father, I’m flawed in finding the perfect balance, but God is a perfect example to continually seek to follow.

Today, I’m thankful for an earthly father who loved me well with both the soft and hard sides of love. I’m thankful for a God who is a model to follow. I pray I can continue to find and refine the appropriate balance with my children.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Isaiah 40

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Remembered no more. "Comfort, oh comfort my people," says your God. "Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She's been punished enough and more than enough, and now it's over and done with." Isaiah 40:1-2 (MSG)

As a kid, I was in trouble plenty of times. I was grounded, spanked, put in time out, sent to bed, had my allowance garnished, and had my mouth washed out with soap. Yet, with all of that, my parents did not hold my sins against me. There were no grudges held. My parents continued to believe the best in me and, once the punishment for my infraction was complete, I was never reminded of my sins. In fact, to this day I will occasionally ask my parents if they remember when I did this or that naughty thing. Usually they just laugh and shake their heads. They have no recollection.

That's what is awesome about being in reltionship with Christ. Even though God is all-knowing and could remember every heinous detail of our sins, He chooses to forget them. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the blood of His punishment covered all of us. The punishment was complete. It's over and done. When we place our faith in Christ, we are covered by that ultimate sacrificial act of love. Softly and tenderly, God calls us home to receive His blessing instead of His curses, just ike the Prodigal Son.

I catch myself, on occasion, remembering my own sins and choosing to project God's punishment and disappointment on myself. I think I need to imagine God's quizzical look (much like my Earthly parents when I ask them if they remember this or that naughty act). I need to see God scratching his head and saying, "I don't remember that at all."

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and [ henning ]