Several of you have come to me at one time or another, recounting incidents of friends doing things that were really out in left field, bad, cruel, mean or downright disgusting and getting away with it. I can recall stories you’ve recounted to me of how they cheat, steal, drink and drive, talk to their employers, abuse the person they are dating, get away with treating their parents, friends and bosses rudely, and their general disregard for doing what is morally right. After your stories, there is always the phrase: “if it were me, I would get caught and be in trouble for sure.” I want you to know that I understand your position completely and have actually felt that way myself a time or two when I was younger. What you are expressing is not unusual.
Before I tell you why what’s happening is a blessing in disguise, I want you to admit that there is still a lot of stuff that you get away with which never really comes to the surface. You know I’m right and I think if you are honest with yourself you will admit that it is true. I know you’ve never, sped, ran a stop sign or taken something for free when a friend gave it to you at their place of employment – right? If God punished us every time we stepped out of line, we’d be in deep kaka. You know that your mom and I have let you slide on a number of things also – let’s take your bedroom and other chores for example. Need I say more?
Now, let’s get back to the point. A few weeks ago we talked about the fact that God prunes us because He loves us. The pain of being cut back and repositioned is made clear in John Chapter 15. There Christ recounts how we must stay attached to Him by obeying His principles and commands. He wants us to do the right thing so we don’t have to experience the deeper and more traumatic pain incurred when we depart from Him and act like we are not part of the same family or eternal Kingdom. If we do act like we belong someplace else, then we must be willing to accept the consequences of what goes along with that disobedience.
There’s one other verse I want you to pay attention to, also. It is Amos 3:2 “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” As a child of Christ you have the great privilege of eternal life in Heaven with all believing brothers and sisters. When you take the family rules for granted and “act like the devil” you are behaving out or character for the remainder of your relatives. Therefore you need correction and redirection. If you truly love God, that spanking received as consequences for your behavior, will put you back on track to your eternal destiny. Think about it this way. If your friends are living like the devil and getting away with it, their spanking will be eternal. If you get caught now and are corrected now, even though the consequences may be painful, then you receive eternal blessing. Which would you prefer?
Love Dad