“[T]he Lord disciplines those he loves…”

When the Baby Boomers (b. 1046-1963) came of age in America, many things changed across the board.  One was the emergence of “pop” culture.  This was distinguished from the other culture hallmarked by classical music, great literature and art, famous national traditions, the refineries of the upper class, etc.  The Church, never seemingly able or willing to impact the culture as much as the culture impacts itself, fell prey, creating a new religious phenomenon: “pop” theology, or theology “lite”.  This was an effort to take things Christian and water them down, making them more acceptable, more palatable to and popular among the masses, churched or otherwise.  Since the Sixties, a whole stream of drivel came down the theological pike until it turned into a flood, delighting publishing house executives as the laughed their way to the bank.  One such publication is “Your Best Life Now,” by mega-church pastor and televangelist, Joel Osteen.  It has sold millions to a generation of uncritical readers.

To be blunt, I don’t read pop theology.  So I won’t pretend to know exactly what Osteen means by “your best life”.  If he means forsake worldliness, false teaching, pride, ego, self-exaltation and get right with God and follow his ways, fine.  If he means your life on planet Earth can be easy, comfortable, richly blessed by abundant material possessions, we have a problem, especially when he adds, “now”.  I know what “now” means, and this latter scenario runs completely counter to the Bible, especially for the believer.

Hebrews 12 begins by challenging us to run the race God has set for us without encumbrance.  Then it holds up Jesus as our model when he endured hardship — hardship we will never come close to knowing.  In the next seven verses (5-11), some form of the word “chastise” (or discipline) is used eight times.  This repetition makes it the classic New Testament text on training required for fruitful (v. 11) Christian living.

As we will see, the passage hardly describes anything like “your best life now” or any other time really.  Verse five says neither to despise the Lord’s discipline nor his rebuke.  Do we “make light” of the things we enjoy?  Do those things make us “lose heart”?  No, not at all.  Only hard things, troubling things do.  Verse six tells us the Lord “punishes” us.  This is the same word — scourge — used when Roman soldiers whipped Jesus.  Realize, of course, that Jesus was not scourged for our sins.  He suffered this inhumane treatment due to the extreme cruelty in men’s hearts.  And that’s the point.  We are not greater than our master (Matthew 10:24-25).  If he endured pain and indignity, we can expect the same.  Verse seven says that discipline is something we are to “endure,” not revel in.  Jesus didn’t revel in the cross.  He “endured” it (verse two) and “such opposition from sinful men” (verse three) with a view toward the future: “the joy set before him,” his wedding where he would forever claim his Bride (us!).

Verse eight says that God’s discipline confirms our relationship to him as his (adult) sons.  The next verse takes the point one step further: if we received correction from imperfect human fathers, why not from our Heavenly Father who does so that we’ll “live”?  I can still remember the day my dad corrected me for something my brother did when we were young.  That sticks out so clearly in my mind because we expect our dads to get it right.  Since I’ve been a father, however, I can see how many things I didn’t get right.  But God gets it right every time, and his discipline is for our “good” so we can become more like him in his holiness (verse ten), something we’re sorely lacking in and in dire need of.

Verse eleven concludes the passage saying times of discipline are not “pleasant” for the present, but “painful”.  How does Osteen’s description correspond to that?  Not very well, not well at all.  Clearly, Jesus, when on the earth, never described his life as “his best life”.  Are you kidding?  After starting in heaven?!  No way!  Neither did he characterize anyone’s life on earth their “best life”.  Neither should we, either theirs or ours.  Not by a long shot.  No, our best life is still to come, and we walk in faith of receiving it.  That’s exactly what Hebrews says: “These [saints] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.  God had planned something better for us…” (11:39-40a).

Is your life bearing the fruit of righteousness and holiness as the Discipliner works on you?