Crime and Punishment...

May 29, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

“He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” Proverbs 10:17.

Daily we live in a “who did what to whom” world. This type of thinking changes our own thoughts and we go through life looking to see “who did what to me”.
When a problem arises we throw out any notion that we may have a contribution to the problem in order to place blame on where we think it lies.

For Christians this is a constant battle. Many people will blame others and some will blame God. In turn, the person gets wrapped up in blame and forgets that a lesson is being taught that will prevent this type of problem in the future.

God is a self-responsibility God. He wants us all to see that we all have a contribution to a problem, no matter how much we like to convince ourselves that someone else is solely to blame. When we realize this we tend to turn and blame God instead of ourselves, and the problem escalates. We blame God normally because we feel as though we are being punished. He is all powerful and can stop anything, so why is this happening to us?

God controls the entire universe, and can see everything that is going on underneath it. He operates in a system of checks and balances that we do not seem to understand. However, looking at our society it is not hard to see that we desire what He does for the most part. We want consequences for child molesters, we want justice, and when needed we want mercy. God is the author of both justice and mercy, and He wants them too.

If we did not bear consequences for our actions then we would all run around looking out for ourselves with no mind to others. Things cannot run smoothly that way, and God knows that. He must be able to have “checks” on people’s behavior and choices.

With that in mind, take a look at what it means to sin. Why is it so horrible if we sin? Because God knows that consequences must follow, and the main consequence of our sin is that it gives the enemy a foothold. "In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26-27.

The second you sin, you allow the devil to view a weakness that he will use against you time and again. If you are the type to feel guilty about sinning and beat yourself up, then expect him to make you feel horrible for what you have done. If you are the type to worry about what you said to someone and allow anxiety to build, then he will try to make you worry. Those feelings are consequences of your sin because you gave the enemy a foothold.

Why blame God? Because He could stop the bad thoughts if He wanted to? That does not work. If He did that for everyone, life would be chaos and we all know that.

Your enemy seeks to punish you to cause you to blame God for your punishment. Meanwhile, God isn’t punishing anyone. He is sitting by you watching you struggle with your consequence and holding your hand saying, “See how this feels? Do not do this again.” Sounds like a parent and child relationship to me. “My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Proverbs 3:11-12.

God is not punishing you; He is disciplining you because He loves you just as we discipline the children we love. The sooner you learn that lesson, examine your own contribution to the problem, come to Him and ask for help, the sooner the discipline will end. Meanwhile, we drag it out by not doing these things and instead we look for someone else to blame. Even the people who walk the straight line find it hard not to blame someone, somewhere. They walk such a tight rope and do everything right, so what contribution could they possibly have? Once I talked to a guy who was having horrible problems with a girlfriend who was cheating on him. He told me that it was all her fault and that he did nothing but sit home and wait for her. I told him that he had a contribution to the problem and he became more defensive. Then I asked him how many times he confronted her about cheating and then took her back in. He told me he had done it many times. I let him know he was enabling her behavior by not taking a stand. See? We all have a contribution.

When you sin do the consequences of the sin go away after the discipline is finished? Not always. When you chose to sin, you chose to disobey God, and that can have effects that last for a lifetime. Take a divorced couple with two children who both committed adultery and decided to divorce later. Will they bear the consequence of not being able to trust future husbands or wives because of their past? Possibly. And who will also share in the enemy’s desire to keep the consequences going? Unfortunately, the children.

Does that mean God is punishing the children for something they did not do? No. However, later if those children come to Him, He can show them not to commit such an act because they are aware of the pain it causes.

The good news is that God can strengthen us to handle the burden of bearing the consequence of our sin. But first we have to go to God to learn the lesson. All of us, everywhere. If we do not then the pain is all for nothing.

God never tempts us to do anything; He is not in the temptation business. We do it all on our own. “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” James 1:13-18.

If we come to God during those temping times, He still rescues us. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13. Key point: you have to go to Him for help first.

Sometimes it takes us continually sinning and bearing consequences until the world strips us of everything in order to come to God. If you allow yourself to live in a way that requires that much be taken before you give in, then that is exactly what will happen. When you are that broken and weak, you are more likely to realize you cannot go forward on your own anymore and you will seek God. It is not until you are willing to stop taking the law into your own hands that you will realize that you cannot rely on yourself anymore. At that moment, you have one need and that is God. “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9.

Remember God is not punishing you, He is strengthening you. God is not tempting you, He is disciplining you. Strength and discipline make us better equipped and ready to face the future. “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:10-11. In our society, we only want to hire those with the proper training for the job. God wants us properly trained to handle life.

The main lesson? Go to Him with everything: past, present, and future. The sooner He is involved, the easier the course will be.