By Lamont H. Fuchs, Ed.D.
Scripture references: Hebrews 12:8, Matthew 10:28
God made us; He knows us better than we know ourselves. The wisdom of God far outweighs the fantasies of those who think you can raise a child to respect their parents and ultimately the authority of God without the knowledge of punishment and the results of one’s actions. Regardless, if parents and teachers do not teach using a form of consequences or punishment, it is most certainly taught by life in general. If you do that … It is going to hurt. Pain is undeniable; in fact, it is the great instructor. Taking discipline and punishment out of our schools has not improved our education system. It has instead weakened our society with wanton disrespect and willful anarchy. But, of course, that’s just my opinion with a Doctorate in Education, and I could be wrong.
Talk to anyone about how they achieved greatness or talk to people who have worked or been in several jobs during their career, where many people participated in accomplishing the goals of an organization. A trucking company or a military unit would fit that criterion. There isn’t enough time to discuss why discipline works; it does. If you ever worked in an organization described above, you know that when the boss was tough and fair, he may not have been well-liked, but you liked the job, and you liked working in an environment where you knew what was expected and everyone did what they were supposed to do. Morale is high, and teamwork is expected and essential. This workplace is nourishing and happy.
Take the same working environment and change the boss to one who plays favorites, imparts no discipline and standards, expects very little, and cuts every corner to get through the day. The workers in that place become unmotivated, challenging to work with, indifferent, and lack morale. That place has become a caustic working environment.
What if our God asked for no respect or fear? What if there were no consequences for our sinful lives? What if there were no heaven or hell, no punishment of death for sin? We wouldn’t need Jesus or God. There would be no law or justice, only anarchy. There would be nothing that separates us from animals.
About now, you might be wondering, Doc? Where is the sermon?
Here it goes in a nutshell. God demands discipline, requires consequences, and is not wishy-washy about it. He gave the law to Moses verbatim. God punished His chosen people and disciplined them for 40 years until they became the people He wanted. He was tough, but He was also fair. He gave His Son, who died on the cross, to pay for the entire world’s sin because of His love for us.
Consequently, somebody must pay. We will all be judged for our actions on Earth. Thank God, right now, for giving us a Savior who took the punishment for our sins. We are paid in full.
Matthew 10:28 – And be not afraid of them that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
If you don’t know the Savior of the world and you fear, you will be punished for your sins…I can tell you what you need to do today.
Dear Lord, God, Father, what a mighty God You are. Thank you for choosing me to be Your heir; thank You for your discipline that reminds me of Your love for me. Thank You for Jesus, who paid it all on Calvary as atonement for me and all the world. Remind those who hear Your word in Hebrews 12:8 how You show Your love to us as heirs and children of God. Amen.
