Fear of Punishment

 Fear of Punishment

 

Starting as children and then continuing into adulthood we make attempts to conceal, many times through deception, our mistakes, crimes, sins because our thought is that if no one knows or those in authority don’t know what we have done then we won’t have to suffer the punishment that is deserved.  Do you remember your parents telling you that if you had told the truth to start with and admitted what you had done that the punishment would have been less or even no punishment at all but because you attempted to conceal what you had done through deception the punishment would be worse?

Sadly, many people, even Christians, forget that God knows everything that you do.  You can’t hide it and lying about it and trying to conceal it just makes it worse.  Now there are always going to be consequences for the things we do.  Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Yet the ultimate punishment, wages for our sin, has been paid for by Christ and we can receive forgiveness and pardon if we just own up to what we have done, repent, and receive it by grace through faith.  Even after this if we mess up and fall into sin don’t try to hide it, deny it or run from God.  Instead run to Him, repent and receive His mercy and love and correction.  Hebrews 12 :5-11 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

God doesn’t just hand out some punishment out of anger towards us. He disciplines/corrects them because He hates what sin does to us and because He loves us and wants what is best for us.  Sometimes it may feel like God doesn’t love us because He doesn’t instantly or quickly get us out of messes that we have gotten ourselves into.  In fact, in those times, He is showing us great love.  I have seen many a person led to ruin because their parents did not discipline them because it was easier for the parents.  It is difficult to truly discipline someone. It takes time and you also have to deal with the very ones you love not understanding that you are discipling them because you love them and them not acting in a loving way back.  Far too often parents have not disciplined their children because they didn’t want to be the bad guy and this is where they loved themselves more than their children. 

God always loves us even when we don’t love Him and get mad at Him for doing what is actually best for us. Yes, God is righteous and part of the discipline comes from that but, I believe, that His discipline is more so from His love and grace than His righteousness. I will use an example for my own life to demonstrate. 

Starting in my 20’s I did not use good financial stewardship even though I knew better.  I listened to others and my own lusts and so therefore found myself in a lot of debt with nothing to show for it.  So, one day I was venting to God and mad at Him because I was a tither and a giver but I wasn’t living a blessed life like He had promised to those who were tithers and givers.  God let me rant for a little bit and then spoke to me and said this, “I am pouring out a blessing that you can’t contain but because of your lack of stewardship it is like I am pouring it into a bag with giant holes in it.  So, the problem is your lustful spending and poor stewardship.”  Yes, that in deed put an end to my rant and I immediately repented for my attitude. God forgave me and I knew that but He didn’t immediately just wipe away my debt.  I had to learn to do what I already knew was the right things to do.  Sadly, this took way longer than it should have.  I would make progress and then fall back into old habits and spend unwisely and go into debt for stuff that I shouldn’t have in an attempt to please someone else instead of doing what was right and pleasing God. It wasn’t until it got so bad that I ended up in bankruptcy court and was so embarrassed that I prayed for the earth to just swallow me up that I said enough.  I made up my mind right there that no matter what I was going to never be back in that place ever again.  Everyone else who was called by the trustee before me it was their second or third time.  That was not going to be me.  It was painful and it took time but I have never been back to there and in fact I am one of the most blessed people I know.  Not because I make a bunch of money, I don’t. Of the majority of my friends, I probably make the least or close to the least amount of money but because I am a good steward and walk in generosity I am as blessed, or more, than the richest people on the planet. I have learned that being blessed is more than the size of my bankroll.  

Yes, could God have bailed me out when I was 29 after my rant and repentance, of course.  Would it have helped me, NO.  By God disciplining me through allowing me to go through the next 7 years of struggle and the bankruptcy helped me far more than if He had bailed me out.  Where I was if had bailed me out at 29, He would still be doing it today because I would have never learned to importance of being a good steward.  Also understand that even through the whole discipline process God was still providing, still was showing His love for me and still helping me. I probably didn’t even reap all that I could have or should have reaped of the bad seed that I had sown.  Even in the bankruptcy I didn’t lose my house nor my cars. 

One more thing to add to my story, about 2 years later I lost my job during one of the worst economic times that has hit this country since the great depression.  When many, with jobs, suffered my family and I were blessed.  A friend of mine said that I was the only person that he knew that lost a good paying job and wound up being better off.  Not only was my quality of life improved, because the job I had was terrible stress wise, God provided time and time again.  I was even able to give away a car that I had to help a lady in the church that needed one.  For almost the next 2 years God used little gig type jobs to bless me so that every bill was paid and then some. I don’t believe that would have happened if not for the disciplining of the Lord in the years prior. 

Don’t let fear of punishment keep you from the blessings of the Lord.  When you mess up just go to Him, receive forgiveness and learn from the discipline that He gives so that you can walk in all the blessings He has for you.