Discipline by Design

How God's Example Guides Parents in Punishments That Fit the Crime

Punishment To Fit the Crime?

The musical, Children of Eden, is a wonderful look at parenting. Of course, the parent is God and then Adam and Eve and then Noah. Not even God succeeded in getting his children to obey Him. That should encourage every parent.

But there is something that we can learn about parenting from God. Actually, there are many things. But I want to focus this article on the idea of selecting punishments commensurate with the offense.

I’d begin by saying that it is important to teach our children that disobedience (sin) has consequences. The Bible is replete with scriptures and stories that state or infer this. Numbers 32:23 says, “Be sure that your sin will find you out.” The spiritual law is sowing and reaping. This is as true in a spiritual sense as the reality of gravity is in the physical realm. So, teaching your child that their actions have consequences (both good and bad) should be a building block in laying a strong spiritual foundation for your kids. One great way to do this is to ensure that punishments are commensurate with the action and making sure your children see there is a connection.

Next, let’s look at this story in Genesis 3, which describes the fall of man. When God punishes Adam and Eve for “their” sin, it is a combination of curses and punishments. The curses were not the punishment, but led to the punishment. We are not speaking about curses here.

The sin in the garden was obvious. God says “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Eve was tempted by the snake and ate the fruit of the tree and then she gave the fruit to Adam who also ate of it.

Up to that point, everything in the Garden was GOOD. Adam and Eve only knew goodness. Now, their disobedience to God’s command meant that they would know evil; it’s pain, suffering, and destruction. The Bible says “and their eyes were opened and they saw they were naked.” It seemed that the snake was correct all along, wasn’t he? “

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Just like he said. Really, God had no choice. He warned them and they disobeyed, literally opening up a Pandora’s box. Now, they were (more) like God because now they knew good AND evil. The consequence was obvious: Evil had to be introduced into the new world.

• God would curse the ground making Adam’s job as ‘caregiver’ immeasurably harder. Now there would be toil and frustration as the ground produced thorns and thistles. Work would be sweat.

• Adam and Eve were also tasked with reproducing to populate the earth. Now, that task would be immeasurably harder by introducing labor pains in child birth.

• Both were kicked out of the garden and fellowship with God was broken. That’s a direct result of sin. Sin ALWAYS breaks relationship with God. Always. So, there was physical separation like there was spiritual separation.