The Depraved Who Deprived Will Tremble

From today’s reading…

As the father of seven kids I can assure you they’ve each tested their boundaries—and my patience—more than once, and they’ve all been corrected by me according to their actions, and, sometimes, unfortunately, my mood.

Although there were often tears and tantrums and slamming of doors, none of my kids could ever say “But I didn’t know I couldn’t do that” or “I didn’t know that was wrong!”

My kids know the rules of the house and the expectations we have of them.

They also know that my wife and I are “slow to anger, and abounding in love,” but we do not raise fools or rapscallions, nor do we tolerate insolence or any support of the Alabama Crimson Tide (or Navy after Air Force’s loss last week…but I digress.)

So when my kids do wrong they know an appropriate punishment is soon to follow.

If you’re a parent you know the adage “This is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you” is 100% true.

I don’t wake up hoping my kids disobey me so I can spank them or take away their electronic gizmos or car keys or ground them so they can’t attend their friend’s party.

When I see them heading down the wrong path I give them ample warnings. (At 49, with a 5-year old, I give A LOT of warnings…because I don’t want to get up off the couch! Now I know why we’re supposed to have kids when we’re young. Watching, chasing, correcting, and protecting kids is hard work!)

Anyway. Back to the warnings…

I want my kids to get back on track when they are doing something they aren’t supposed to. I want them to stop doing the lazy, incorrect thing and return to doing the right thing. 

But I also know that pain—including testing the boundaries and even some disobedience—is part of a parent/child relationship.

As they spread their wings and seek new heights they encounter new risks and challenges, some of which I can prepare them to handle with ease and grace, while some they just have to learn to deal with as they are presented. 

We’ve all touched the hot stove, blown in the wrong dog’s face, and thrown a ball in the house after we were told not to.

If the only way I can keep my children from possibly getting a third-degree burn from the stove is to leave a little red mark on his or her bottom, raise my voice, and put them in timeout I’ll take no joy or pleasure from it, but I’ll do it 100 times a day—and 101 times on Sunday—if that’s what it takes to keep my children safe.

However, eventually they grow up and must face the “hot stoves” of life on their own and make a decision…and live with the consequences when they choose incorrectly.

Today, God is using Joel’s word to remind you of the consequences of touching the hot stoves in your life. 

You won’t get burned and you’ll have no need to tremble or live in darkness and gloom as long as you…

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.