But, how can this be?<\/em> If God has forgiven them, why are they still punished? Why must they suffer for their sins if they have been forgiven? How can forgiveness, and four decades of consequences leading to the death of at least 603,448 people go hand in hand?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Doesn\u2019t forgiveness imply a release from consequences? Doesn\u2019t forgiveness mean also forgetting, giving up our rights of retribution, setting aside our heart-felt desire for justice, and making nice \u2013 even if everything within us wants to make war?<\/p>\n\n\n\n God clearly claims to have forgiven them, but He also clearly punishes them. In this case, then, forgiveness and punishment are not mutually exclusive. The rebels are forgiven, yet still condemned to suffer and die. The children also suffer, even though their parents were the transgressors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, so as not to avoid the trap of the man who asserted that all camels walk single file \u2013 at least the one he saw did \u2013 let us consider another circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of us know this story, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, King David sends his army off to battle, but he stays home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While walking around on his palace roof, he observes a beautiful woman bathing nearby, inquires and finds out that she is the daughter of one of his inner circle of mighty men who has sworn to protect him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only that, she is the wife of another of his most trusted soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even so, King David exercises his political authority, has her brought to him, and beds her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she later notifies him that she is pregnant by him, David has her husband brought home from war and tries several times to trick him into sleeping with his wife so he will think the child is his. When those efforts fail, King David arranges for her husband to be killed in battle. After his death, and her period of mourning ends, David marries her and she births the son conceived in adultery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not surprisingly, the things David did displeased the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God then sends his prophet, Nathan, to confront the king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nathan recounts the Lord\u2019s multitude of blessings in David\u2019s life and notes that God intended to bless him even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, now, because of David\u2019s evil acts, there will be consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David man\u2019s up and confesses straightforwardly, \u201cI have sinned against the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nathan responds, \u201cThe Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But, because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord\u201d (also translated \u2018made yourself an enemy of the Lord\u2019), certain things will happen as punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nathan informs David that his reign will no longer know peace, calamity will come upon his entire household, and their newborn son will die. (II Samuel 11-13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, how can this be?<\/em> If God has \u201ctaken away\u201d his sin \u2013 which we assume means forgiven him \u2013 why all of the punishments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If David, his kingdom, his household, his new wife and new son must all face calamitous consequences because of his sins, how does that coincide with forgiveness? <\/p>\n\n\n\n In comparing these two cases, both the Hebrews and David were forgiven, both nations suffered consequences, and both times people died as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, apparently forgiveness and consequences, even as severe as death, can coexist.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n If this seems a peculiar coincidence, perhaps our understanding of forgiveness has been sullied, brought down to earth out of the heavenly realm, and sissified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe God\u2019s idea of forgiveness has been kidnapped, redefined, and reformatted to conform to humanity\u2019s general discomfort with accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is feasible that what we sometimes label \u201cforgiveness\u201d is actually a rejection of godly justice, a replacement of pearls of wisdom with jelly beans of goo, righteousness with wrongness, and consequences with cowardice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think my dad understood the duality of forgiveness and consequences. When I misbehaved, he let me know two things \u2013 he loved me, and what was about to happen next was going to hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evil seems clearly present in our world. Murderers, thieves, kidnappers, bombers, and wackos make the news, but we have all experienced unpleasantries related to self-centeredness, narcissism, lies, slander, unfaithfulness, lasciviousness, laziness, greed, gluttony, drunkenness, foul language, arrogance, prejudice, covetousness, unbelief, cowardice, oppression, and more \u2013 and sometimes we are the perpetrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can we be forgiven?<\/em> Possibly, if we honestly confess our transgressions, or someone in good standing pleads earnestly on our behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will there be consequences?<\/em> Most likely, and we probably won\u2019t have to ask for them. They will come, sometimes to us and often to others, sometimes naturally, sometimes purposefully, sometimes immediately, and sometimes belatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should not be surprised, angry, or insolent when they do. And, we should seek to learn from error, embrace reality, and forgo the pretentious fantasy that words and actions, and even thoughts, do not have splashes and ripples of consequence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, we should relinquish our fanciful illusion of control. Even our tiny speck of universe is mostly larger than our grasp. We are at the mercy of God, nature, and multitudes of other things beyond our command or sway at any given moment. The sun will rise, the rain will fall, the wind will blow, and our neighbors, friends, family, and enemies will think of us what they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may have influence, but not control. God can do what He wants when He wants without our advisement, permission or approval, even when He allows for our input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us not confuse our grand American experiment in human liberty with the Kingdom of God. Even if the entire universe voted against the Almighty, His vote is the only one that counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can we ourselves forgive?<\/em> Yes, it should be possible for us to \u201cgive over\u201d all things to the Lord without reserve. We may be able to do it once, or ours may be a journey of repetition, but it should be possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What about when we are in a position of authority on behalf of ourselves or others, what should we do? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If it is within our purview, it may be our duty to mete out and\/or allow due consequences. In doing so, we should obey principles of justice such as balance, due process, integrity, and appropriate reckoning. We should not overreach nor under reach, not shirk our duties, or cheapen the cost of forgiveness with spineless inaction, injurious silence or babbling drool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We should not make excuses for the inexcusable, refuse or misdirect responsibility for the responsible, or play word games with concepts, definitions, labels, and talking points in an effort to disguise reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should avoid taking unjust liberties and abusing freedoms of the many in reaction to the clearly contained actions of one or a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should seek justice, not legalism; truth, not opinion; and bow to common sense, not rise to idiocy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, let us be clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forgiveness is typically possible, and consequences \u2013 even as far reaching as death in this life \u2013 do not necessarily negate forgiveness, and may indeed be a rightful companion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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