Wrath vs. Discipline

Scripture Reading: James 1:18-20

              Back around 1996, I came across a news article about a young man who tried to kill a millipede with a .22 rifle. His extermination methodology wasn’t nearly as effective as a good boot-stomping would have been. The millipede escaped down a hole in the ground when the shot was fired. The bullet from the .22 ricocheted, hit a nearby railroad track, ricocheted again, and then struck the rifleman’s friend over the right eye, fracturing his skull.

              People spend a lot of time trying to kill millipedes with .22’s (metaphorically speaking). This always ends up causing unanticipated damage and rarely achieves the intended purpose. People berate their children, labeling them things like “lazy” or “stupid” because they haven’t made their bed or are not doing as well in school as they would like. Those kids still don’t do what their parents ask, and their souls are marred by the abusive language they endure. That is what I mean by killing a millipede with a .22.

              There is a place for firmness and discipline is important. Circumstances may even require severe consequences. But when we deal with the issues of life, when we are trying to bring about correction and discipline, we should make sure we aren’t instead invoking wrath. Because “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”