As I was applying discipline to my son (yet again), his older sister said, 'This is going to be good.' My first thought was that I had not seen such bloodthirsty behavior in my children. Then I took a second to ponder. Isn't this what they seek every time they tattle? Aren't they looking for justice to be meted out in quick fashion? Could it be that my children stand back in giddy excitement whenever a sibling is in trouble?
Sigh.
So, after finishing with my son, who indeed did deserve punishment, I moved on to his sister. We had a conversation about what loving our brother really means. We talked about how we should want good for one another, not bad.
It was later that I realized how very human their response is.
The fact is that we all cry out to God for justice to be delivered to our enemies. We're not the first generation to be like this.You can just about flip blindly through the book of Psalms and land on a song where David wishes punishment on his enemies. So not only did David count on his enemies being God's enemies, but he put it to song. Classy.
Long before David, Adam turned on Eve when he realized punishment was coming. Not exactly a good example, was he? It seems to me that if there's only one other person on the planet, you might not want to throw them under the bus. But he did.
So where is our love for one another? Because, after all our other reasons for wanting justice are given up, this does come down to how we care for and look after one another. There is something wrong when we would rather see someone 'get it' than to to help prevent them from the actions that caused the discipline in the first place.
Much like many other areas in our life it shows a very narrow focus on self.Yes, justice is often needed. No, we can't prevent everyone from actions that deserve justice. But perhaps we could treat it less like a spectator sport when it does happen.
Am I alone in this? Does anyone else find too much enjoyment from others getting punished?
Sigh.
So, after finishing with my son, who indeed did deserve punishment, I moved on to his sister. We had a conversation about what loving our brother really means. We talked about how we should want good for one another, not bad.
It was later that I realized how very human their response is.
The fact is that we all cry out to God for justice to be delivered to our enemies. We're not the first generation to be like this.You can just about flip blindly through the book of Psalms and land on a song where David wishes punishment on his enemies. So not only did David count on his enemies being God's enemies, but he put it to song. Classy.
Long before David, Adam turned on Eve when he realized punishment was coming. Not exactly a good example, was he? It seems to me that if there's only one other person on the planet, you might not want to throw them under the bus. But he did.
So where is our love for one another? Because, after all our other reasons for wanting justice are given up, this does come down to how we care for and look after one another. There is something wrong when we would rather see someone 'get it' than to to help prevent them from the actions that caused the discipline in the first place.
Much like many other areas in our life it shows a very narrow focus on self.Yes, justice is often needed. No, we can't prevent everyone from actions that deserve justice. But perhaps we could treat it less like a spectator sport when it does happen.
Am I alone in this? Does anyone else find too much enjoyment from others getting punished?
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