Punishment
What did the punishment for your disobedience look like when you were a kid ? Let’s not get mad about it all over again…let’s just learn from it. Some of us will tone it down considerably, because what was administered to us might be too severe for today’s standards. Some of us will take the complete opposite approach and scold / punish our own kids and grandkids in ways that our own parents and grandparents wouldn’t’ve even considered. If i was misbehaving or embarrassing my mama or daddy, it didn’t matter WHERE we were … they’d snatch me up by my arm and wear me out with their hand, and didn’t care who witnessed it. Probably saved another kid from receiving a similar whippin by example. We learned early on not to be disrespectful to ANY adult…especially not our own mamas and daddies. “Permission t’ whoop” was a given…nobody had to be granted it. Same with our kids … if they needed a whippin, whip em ! Don’t be callin us while we’re tryin t’ eke out a livin…and don’t waste an opportunity to teach em right from wrong and about consequences ! Ain’t nobody got time for that school meetin or delay of discipline stuff. Take care of it as the need arises. You probably savin em from a life-o-crime…or worse. Somewhere along the way, the, “it takes a village to raise a child” got lost … and that’s a shame. This week’s SS lesson reminded me that even though God is merciful, He’s also “just”… “ Based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair.” My mama and daddy loved me, therefore they punished me accordingly. God loves His children too much to let em continue a life of disobedience. Yeah, we’re gonna slip up every now and then, but that shouldn’t mean we make it a habit. God said, “ How long will these people despise me ? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I’ve performed among them ? I will strike them with a plague and destroy them.”( Numbers 14:11-12 ) God’s done got tired of their disobedience and negativity. He’s sick of their belly-achin and distrust…even after ALL He’s done for em ! Sound familiar ? Sometimes, we have to suffer some pretty hard consequences to realize how GOOD we’ve had it. Although God loves us, He’s also gotta discipline us like good parents do ( Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6 ). He wants our unadulterated love and trust, and if whoopin us is what it takes, whoopin is what it’s gonna be. I ain’t real sure God holds to the “time out” policy… He wants to get our attention … more of a “nip it in the bud” kinda God. Yeah…the people done pushed Him bout as far as He could stand…so He left em out in the desert to die out and allowed only Caleb and Joshua and their families to enter the Promised Land … because they trusted Him to do as He said He’d do ! The kids of all those adults weren’t held responsible for their parent’s actions, so they got a reprieve, also. What a waste ! Folks forfeited the land of promise … the “land of milk and honey”, for wasteland ! What about you ? Does God need t’ bring about some drastic measures down on you and your family to correct some wrong behavior ? Is there something you need to repent of, while God’s still patiently waiting ? Maybe you need to stop running from Him and accept His free offer of salvation. Whatever He’s saying to you, please humble yourself and submit to Him … before it’s too late.