Proverbs 15:10
Do
you ever wonder why some people seem to get away with so much, that they
seemingly never get caught? Again and again, they do wrong and no one seems to
care. Sometimes it doesn’t help to know that someday, way out there in the
future judgment will come. Sometimes you want to see judgment quickly, right
away.
That
desire for judgment quickly often comes from the pain whatever the other
individual has caused. We somehow think that seeing judgment executed will
bring relief. Sometimes it does, but often it doesn’t. Even those who witness
the death of those convicted of the most heinous crimes don’t feel relief. They
are often filled with mixed emotions.
Sometimes
nothing can bring relief. When someone is killed, killing the other person does
not fill the void left by the loss of the loved one who was killed. It doesn’t
bring the husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, mom or dad back.
So
if it doesn’t make things right again, why worry about judgment? Why not let
all judgment hold on until eternity. This would probably be a good thing. Delay
in judgment for the other person means delay in judgment for you, giving both
of you time to repent.
I
know there are things in my life that deserve judgment. And I know I don’t
repent immediately after some transgressions. So if judgment came immediately
after the offense, or maybe a 24 hour cooling off period, we would all be in
trouble. There is a delay in judgment for a reason. It gives time for
repentance and corrective learning.
We
can all use grace. We all need correction. We all need to learn to “take our
medicine.” Correction may not be pleasant, but it is necessary. Correction
keeps kids safe as we teach them the dangers of this physical life. Pain can be
a good teacher if the current pain isn’t fatal. You can’t get run over once in
hopes that they lesson will be learned. The correction has to be strong enough
to prevent that first occurrence.
Correct
will save our lives, if we heed its call.