I often hear people ask, “Why is God punishing me?” because they have fallen into hardship. It saddens me to hear this. God is not a heavy handed tyrant doling out discipline without reason.
Hebrews chapter 12 talks about the discipline of God: in it Paul compares our relationship with God to that of a human father and child. He asks: what father who loves his son does not discipline him? What is he asking?
While there is a modern trend of “Never say ‘no’ to your child” which believes that correcting a child’s bad behavior will damage their psyche – I say that’s hogwash. Ever since humans walked the Earth we have known that children need guidance to learn what is right, what is wrong, and to have respect for their parents and teachers. While I do not advocate beating a child, discipline, guidance, correction must be carried out.
If I, the son of a human father, recognize that my father was molding me as a child, not persecuting me, how can I shake a fist at God when I am being disciplined?
I’ll admit that I did not enjoy being sent to my room, or grounded for a week, or occasionally spanked. And I may have been resentful and rebellious at the time. But I learned what is acceptable and what is not. Afterward (sometimes long afterward) I came to be grateful for the instruction.
It is worth noting that a sane and rational earthly father does not discipline his children without cause, but only when some infraction has occurred (often repeatedly) and he feels discussing it (again) is pointless. Punishment is used as a way of driving home the point: “Do Not Do This.”
In like manner, God does not allow us to suffer hardship for no reason. Most of the time, our hardships are a direct result of our own actions. We made a bad choice, bad things occurred as a result and God does not protect us from them.
There are, however, times when we get caught up in the poor choices of someone else. If another driver runs a red light and slams into your car as you cross the intersection, is that your fault? Probably not. If you were paying more attention to your cell phone than to your driving, you might have been able to avoid the accident, but even an attentive driver sometimes gets caught up in accidents not of their making.
Unfortunately God does not take us aside and say, “Now, my child, you have done this thing. You have been warned before, you know it is wrong, yet you did it anyway. Therefore I must administer punishment. Here is what I must do…”
He does warn us. If we are listening, the Holy Spirit within us warns us when we are pushing our boundaries or considering an illicit move. But all too often that small voice is lost in the clamor of our own thoughts and desires. We do not seek the Lord’s guidance, but rely on our own “wisdom” to make a proper choice.
Then, when the situation goes bad we ask, “Why are you doing this to me, Lord?”
