Tuesday Reflection- January 25, 2022

God’s Penal System

It is well known that when we correct or punish in anger, we are apt to over do it. One of the things I always shared with parents when I worked as a guidance counselor, was the importance of not disciplining their children in their anger. What was meant to punish and or correct has the potential to become acts of abuse and cruelty if administered in anger. In today’s watchword the prophet Jeremiah is begging God not to correct him or discipline him in anger since such action from God will lead to the prophet’s total annihilation. Rather he asks God to ensure that the discipline is tempered by God’s mercy. Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing. Jeremiah 10: 24.

Discipline today has moved from being corrective to exacting punishment as well as withholding privileges. We see the unjust ways in which the penal system applies justice to society. A person may be more severely punished for a crime because of their ethnicity, status or locality. Look for example of the case of Felicity Huffman, the wealthy celebrity who was sentenced to fourteen days in prison for forging her child’s SAT scores as well as her involvement in a college admissions scandal. Compare that to the case of Tanya McDowell who was sentenced to five years in prison for lying about her home address to get her child into a better school district. The most striking difference between the two ladies is that Felicity is white while Tanya is black. There are those who have used punishment for making money rather than to punish and rehabilitate. In the US, 1 in every 54 Hispanic men is imprisoned. 1 in every 36 black men is imprisoned and 1 in every 106 white men is imprisoned. These are all in the 18 plus age group and shows the racial disparity in our penal system. The United States is home to 4.2 percent of the world’s population, yet it holds 20 percent of the world’s prisoners, most of who are young black men. This is because the penal system is more of a money-making mechanism for the rich and a means of racial discrimination, than a means of rehabilitating and returning an offender to society. While the rest of the world may not seek to benefit from the penal system in the same way, the stigma attached to being punished or incarcerated is demeaning and life changing. It sure seems as if the world does not correct in just measure.

Jeremiah’s request then may well be reflective of the request of anyone who has had to face the law and have been punished in any way, including being incarcerated. Punishment in just measure speaks of justice which is retributive and reformative. It must fit the crime and it must lead to the offender being a better person. God as the righteous judge is never vindictive, but always fair in His judgment. It is for this reason that the prophet asks that God not judge him in anger but in just measure. We are destroyed by God’s wrath, but Christ came to save us and grant us life everlasting. In the Hymn written by John Hus, we find these fitting words. To avert from men God’s wrath, Jesus suffered in our stead; by an ignominious death He a full atonement made; and by His most precious blood brought us, sinners, nigh to God. God’s penal system is Jesus Christ. He is God’s way of not punishing us in his anger but in just measure, for Christ already bore the brunt of God’s anger for our sins. It doesn’t give us an escape hatch however, for God will discipline us in love, to correct us or to bring us back to himself. In Hebrews 12: 5 – 6 we are reminded, My child, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every child whom He receives. May we accept God’s discipline in love and may it have the desired effect of moving us into better relationship with God and with those around us. Amen.