“We assume God’s judgment should begin with those who do the greatest evil. But it doesn’t. It never has. It begins with us (followers of Christ.)” – Larry Osborne
When my son was younger, viewing me as a universal mom-figure, he would often ask me if I could say something to other children who were misbehaving in public. And while it may have been tempting for me to reprimand other children who were running amok, I had to remind my son that each parent is responsible for correcting and disciplining their own children.
“But their parents aren’t doing anything to stop them,” he would often plead. I knew where he was coming from. It is frustrating when we see children – or adults, for that matter – making choices that negatively affect everyone. But I would encourage my son to try ignoring them and focus on the fun he was having. I would suggest that another adult, possibly an employee or a worker at the event we were attending, would be better-suited to ask the parents to monitor their children more closely. Or perhaps, as much as we did not desire for this to happen, the child would fall and get hurt – a natural consequence of poor choices.
These responses would sometimes elicit pouting and disappointment from my son. My son had been taught right from wrong since a young age. We set reasonable expectations for his public behavior, and he knew that failure to do so would result in appropriate punishment. He struggled with understanding why some children operated under different rules depending on who their parents were.
Likewise, it is easy for members of the Body of Christ to react with the same level of disappointment when we witness the calamity and injustices in the world around us.
Like my son when he was younger, forgetting our own shortcomings and failings, we desire God’s immediate wrath and punishment when we witness the sins and unrighteous behavior of others. We cringe when a store manager apologizes and offers a refund to a rude and unreasonable customer. We desperately wish a police officer had been present when another driver passes our vehicle on a double-line and speeds ahead of us. We don’t believe our seemingly lazy and unproductive co-worker deserved the promotion they received.
My son was too young to fully comprehend the concept that, yes, while those children were absolutely misbehaving, he was still in the process of improving areas of his own life. Regardless of the choices other parents made with their children, we were committed to correcting and redirecting our son when he needed discipline.
Godly parents discipline our children because we love them. We want them to be successful in life by understanding right from wrong, and by knowing that poor choices can have both natural and spiritual consequences.
Instead of being troubled by the actions of those who do not operate under the Law of God, the Lord desires His children to hold up a mirror and refine the areas of our own lives that desperately need pruning. Matthew 7:3 says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
Because we forget that we too have spoken harshly to others when we were frustrated. We too have not always obeyed traffic laws, especially when we were in a hurry. We too have occasionally slacked with some of our responsibilities.
Those who are not children of the Father will be reproved differently than believers will. (And they will be reproved, for Romans 12:19 promises, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”) We can easily look at the apparent evil, chaos, and unrighteousness in the world around us, and wonder why God is not dealing more harshly with the sins of others.
But God is more focused on the sin within the camp.
Instead of immediately reprimanding the children running wild in public, He instead turns His attention to the children by His side. What does His Church look like? How are His children behaving? Are His children being obedient to His Will? Are His children being kind and civil towards one another in all situations? Are His children more concerned with the opinions of the world than they are the opinion of their Father? Are His children accepting responsibility for their faults, and desiring to change? Are His children pruning branches that are not bearing fruit?
As much as other children misbehaving in public troubled me, I was much more concerned with continuing to refine my own child… to speak Biblical truths to him, to avert his thoughts when they showed signs of becoming judgmental or impure, and to correct him when he made unwise choices.
Because he is mine, and I desire for him to grow in holiness. Just like God desires the same for the children who belong to Him. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:5-6).
