Many of my clients tell me they are afraid of God’s punishment or when something bad happens it is because God is punishing them. I think this is a misunderstanding of punishment vs. natural consequences. Let me give you an example:
When my nephew was 18 months old he decided he liked to play with the buttons on the elevator at church. He would press a button, then if not caught go into the elevator and press more buttons. Now being an adult I know this is not a very smart thing to do. What happens if one day he isn’t caught on time and he ends up on the first floor and goes out the door or if he gets lost on another floor in the building? Nothing good can come from this behavior. So i said to him, “If you play with the elevator I will need to give you pow-pow on your hand.” Now I know my nephew quite well and I already knew what was going to happen. (Notice just because I knew the choice he would make did not take away his free will to make that choice). About 10 minutes later, when he thought I wasn’t watching, he took his little diaper-butt over to the elevator, got on his tippy-toes and hit the button. I went and lightly hit him on the hand and I said, “you can’t play on the elevator.” Now do you think he learned. No, because the punishment I gave him wasn’t hard enough. So 10 minutes later again, I saw little diaper-butt go to the elevator. And others were about to step in and stop him. I said, “Don’t stop him. We will just need to go through again later if you do.” I watched him go to the elevator, get on his tippy-toes hit the button, wait for the door to open and go in. Then I quickly got into action and ran into the elevator, grabbed him and gave him a really hard pow-pow on his hand. He cried and cried. And I told him, ” I know it hurts, but that’s what happens if you don’t obey. You can’t play on the elevator” He never again played on the elevator
Now the question is “Was I being nice or mean?” Obviously nice because the natural consequences of this behavior is much worse than a stinging hand. He could have gotten lost, he could have found his way to the first floor and onto to the street. The natural consequences of this behavior could be very very painful.
Now if this is what punishment is, isn’t God more loving than what I could every be. Wouldn’t He want me to avoid the natural consequences of my bad behavior. Can’t He see the consequences of what I do much better than what I can? I think the punishments from the hand of God are much kinder and more loving than anything natural consequences would bring me. Many of the bad things coming my way are natural consequences. Wouldn’t wisdom ask for God’s mercy in His punishments vs, just allowing me to live out the natural consequences of my sinful ways.
I ask God to correct me quickly and to help me be a person who will easily respond to his smallest whispers of correction so I don’t have to be subject to punishment but punishment is still better than natural consequences. Natural consequences don’t come from a motivation of love.
godandmyducks 