Discipline and Love

A few weeks back, I was at a baseball game with my wife and some of her co-workers.  For some reason, the conversation turned to the book of Joshua for a few minutes; more specifically, Joshua 10 where the sun stands still.  One of her co-workers, we'll call him "Nedwardo," said something along the lines of, "That's not my God.  My God wouldn't stop the sun so that more people would get slaughtered."

Now, a baseball game is not exactly the right time to get into a theological debate on idolatry and God's righteousness (especially not with somebody that has some control over where your next appointment will be, but that's another story), but I wanted to tell him that he should probably re-examine his "god" in light of the biblical text and look at how Yahweh has revealed himself to the people of Israel.  I wanted to tell him that he wasn't making a nicer version of God in discounting that which was revealed in Scripture, just an idol.  I wanted to ask him how he felt justified in placing judgement on the creator of the universe.  But I didn't.  I kept watching the game (a thrilling 1-0 win for the home team), and reflected some more on what he had to say.

Not long ago, Katie and I had a discussion stemming from his comment and a discussion that she had with her small group about the image of God in the Old Testament (OT) versus the image in the New Testament (NT).  It's the old "God of love vs. God of wrath" debate.  The more I think about it, the more I come to understand the depth of God's love.  It's not like God didn't show love and compassion in the OT, and it's not like Jesus doesn't show wrath in the NT.  What we see consistently is a balance between love and, not so much wrath but, righteous judgement.

It's not like God is angry all the time in the OT, but God does bring righteous judgement on those who fail to live a life that is pleasing and honoring to God.  We don't see a similar self-righteous indignation from people such as Nedwardo when it comes to the seige and exile of Israel and Judah.  And why is that?  We know the whole story.  We know that God was patient with Israel and Judah.  Seriously.  It was centuries of turning away from God before they were exiled.  But, there's this sense of self-righteousness when it comes to the Israelites conquering the Promised Land.  This false sense that the God of the OT is in some way vengeful and heartless.  Yet, we miss the fact that these very people are being judged by God.  The just punishment for turning to false idols, for placing their trust in something other than the one true Creator, and for placing themselves above the most Holy God (Afterall, isn't that what idolatry is in the first place?  Placing ourselves above God?).  It wasn't shocking or deplorable when it was happening to Israel, why would it be so when it happened to the Canaanites?

We aren't getting a picture of a different, hot-headed Yahweh in the OT that just needed some time to chill out before the NT rolled around.  We're getting a glimpse of the seriousness of sin.  We're getting a glimpse of a Father disciplining His children.  We're getting a glimpse of true holiness - that which cannot tolerate sin.  When you walk through a grocery store and see someone disciplining his/her child, you don't assume that they're terrible parents.  You don't see the love and compassion that comes out when they are at home playing in the backyard, and everything is going as it should.  When you use your selective seeing, then, yes, God does seem to be harsh and vengeful in the OT, but you're not looking at the whole picture.

Sometimes there needs to be discipline because there is love.  Parents who don't discipline their children aren't doing them any favors.  They aren't showing their love for the child by not discipling them.  They are showing a complete lack of concern for what their children do.  Love and discipline are not mutually exclusive.  It is when they are balanced that true love shines through.