Are you afraid that God will punish you when you sin? I am! I grew up having this fear. I was taught that it is good to fear the Lord because this will help me avoid sin. I believe many of us grew up with the same mindset. But a few months ago, I asked myself "Will God really punish me when I sin?" I discovered that God does not punish when I sin, instead, He does something worse. When I decide to go against His instruction, He abandons me or gives me over to my sinful desires. Before you assume that I am now preaching a different gospel, please hear me out.
When Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, knowing good and evil, God gave them over to their foolish desires. When they were inside the garden of Eden they were allowed to eat from everything God planted. But when they decided to go against God's commandments, He kicked them out and made them plant their own garden to eat from what they can produce from the ground. I believe they regretted their decision but it was too late.
When the Jews entered the Promised Land, God told them to destroy their enemies and never to go after their gods. But they did otherwise, so God gave them over to their sinful ways by making them the slaves of their enemies and in the process, they forced them to sacrifice to their gods.
Realizing these, I am now more afraid that God will give us over to my sinful ways and desires rather than actually punish me. Because as a Father He will have compassion, but the world will not be. I now believe that the reason God gave us commandments is so that He can protect us from the pain our sinful ways bring into our lives.
