Psalm 99

Shortly before giving birth to our first daughter, I watched an episode of the Supernanny television show, where the family being chronicled included a dad who “spanked” his children. I put that word in scare quotes because his “spanking” really amounted to nothing more than hitting the kids when he was angry or frustrated. Sometimes the blows would fall on their bottoms; other times, he hit their arms, legs, or back.

I think it made such an impression on me at the time because child-rearing and discipline was prominent in my mind. And I thought, No wonder spanking has gotten such a bad name in our culture!, because what was portrayed as “spanking” on that television show wasn’t spanking at all—at least not the kind used for effective discipline. As my mother used to put it: if and when spanking is employed properly as a disciplinary technique, it is hardest on the parent, for it should never be done in anger, in the heat of the moment. And when the frustration has subsided, that’s when many parents would find spanking more difficult.

Now, I’m not advocating for spanking over other methods of discipline. In fact, I always used it as a last resort with my own children. But when the circumstances warranted it, and I felt it was the best method of conveying the necessary discipline to my child, I didn’t hesitate to spank. Properly.

What does all of this have to do with Psalm 99? Verse 8: “You showed them that you are a forgiving God, but you punished them for their wrongs.” I like how The Message renders the last part of that verse: “You were never soft on their sins.”

Does it sound odd to say that God forgives, but does not pardon? I don’t think so, not if the proposed “punishment” is for the purpose of discipline. God may forgive our sins (and He most certainly does), but that doesn’t negate the problem with sin and its consequences if it goes unaddressed in our lives.

You see, for far too long, we have believed (mostly because the Christian church has preached!) that the problem with our sin is that God is angry with us. Thus, we jump to the erroneous conclusion that if we could somehow secure His forgiveness, our problem would be solved. But that is based on a false premise. The problem with sin is not that it makes God angry. The problem with sin is that, if it is left untreated, it kills you.

We should look no further than the cross to know that God forgives sinners unabashedly and immediately. Jesus—who was God in the flesh—spoke forgiveness to the people who were killing Him. These people hadn’t even asked for forgiveness, yet they were forgiven freely by God. Unfortunately, that didn’t solve their sin problem. They kept right on torturing Jesus.

Forgiveness is an attitude of the heart. It means giving up the right to personal revenge after someone has wronged you. And make no mistake about it: our sin has hurt God very much. But He harbors no attitude of revenge against us for that sin. He forgives us all without question—including Satan.

The fact is, however, that our sin will ultimately destroy us unless we let God heal us from it. To use a simple analogy, it’s as if we had been going to the doctor our whole life, and he kept telling us to stop smoking because it would cause lung cancer. And we ignore him and continue to smoke. When we develop lung cancer, the doctor might say, “I forgive you for not heeding my advice,” but that will not stop the cancer from killing us. In order to deal with the cancer, the doctor (despite his forgiveness) will also have to apply treatment.

Discipline is God’s treatment. He can and does forgive us all day long, but He is never “soft” on our sin. When we need correction, punishment, and discipline, He is more than willing to provide them—even when it makes Him look mean and tyrannical. The thing first and foremost on His mind is our well-being, and He will do whatever it takes to heal our sin problem.

So, while you thank God today for His forgiveness, also thank Him for His discipline. Through it, He is dealing with the sin problem in your heart so you can be restored to full spiritual health. You are His precious child, and He wants to heal you completely. That’s why, when He needs to, He will spank you—and He won’t apologize for doing it!