I Haven't Been Spanked Since...

Galatians 3:23-29

I can remember growing up and literally fearing the sound of a belt buckle. Of course, the punishment was never severe, never. I would get one or two whacks on the buttocks with the strap of the belt and as far as I can recall it never left more than a bright red mark which hurt for 15 or 20 minutes.

Me and my brother both knew we were in trouble when we heard these words of warning from our mom, "I'm telling your dad when he gets home." We were sent to our rooms to await the moment dad came home. We could here him go into their bedroom, open the closet, grab the belt and walk towards our room with the sound of that buckle jingling. As a 6 or 7 year old child, that sound can be very terrifying.

As I write this I can honestly say I haven't been spanked since the age of 6 or 7. In fact I can't recall being spanked more than 2 or 3 times. I can also honestly say the spankings served as a lesson as to how to make better choices in my life. Other types of discipline were used in the following years which worked just as well; being grounded, getting sent to my room (in those days we didn't have anything but books in our rooms), and not being able to talk on the phone, listen to my albums, or watch TV.

As I got older and into relationships with people other than my family the disciplines changed. They became more of a self-awareness that I had hurt someone's feelings, something I knew I didn't want to do. I would see how my words and actions resulted in a physical and emotional rift in the relationship. As I began to understand what I said or did to hurt others I learned not to do the things which brought even the slightest of pain to my friends or family.

I wasn't always successful, I don't think we can ever reach a place where we never hurt those we love, but I became better at recognizing how my actions and words could hurt people and worked on changing how I acted and re-acted to and in different situations. I would think my words before saying them and I would think my actions all the way through before doing them.

I also began asking those around me to stop doing the things I thought were offensive to others, and were definitely offensive to me. I asked people to stop swearing and telling racist jokes. I talked to young men and women about the cause and effects of early sexual behaviors. I called my parents to say hello more. I paid more attention to my wife.

I began to notice people around me beginning to behave differently. When I was able to work into a conversation why that was, I was simply told they wanted to respect my choices. My hope is that somehow some of the people who's behavior and words changed out of their respect to me would begin a reaction which would cause others to change their words and behaviors. I also noticed those around me began to enjoy my presence a little more. I would like to think that's because I was pleasant to have around.

I tell this story to reflect on how Paul is trying to say the same thing to the church in Galatia about the God they follow through law and punishment, and the God he follows through the example of Christ. Paul points out that the God they follow is no longer needed as a disciplinarian if they choose to accept the belief that Jesus lived and gave his life to help us understand that love is the way to live in the joy and peace of God.

Which way will you choose?