God and Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson portrait, Unknown Myspace artist

Hebrews 12:5-13

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

In biblical times it was uttered "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" And God raised up His Son from that very town to save the world. In modern times it was uttered "Can anything good come from Gary, Indiana?" And Joe Jackson raised up his five sons from that very town to entertain the world. After Michael Jackson and the other members of the Jackson 5 rose to fame. Joe Jackson would produce a few of his other children to be musical entertainers and actors. Likewise God used Christ's sacrifice to bring Himself more spiritual children. It may seem ridiculous that I am making a blog entry comparing God and Joe Jackson, but it happens often (but not as explicitly). Thy are the two fathers that are often criticized the most about how they raised their children. People question if Joe was too hard on his kids: physically disciplining them, working them and not allow them to have a childhood like their peers. Likewise we all have had moments when we ask why God allows His children to go through hardships and tough lessons. So....does God beat his kids? In Hebrews 12:5-13, the writer (who we usually assume is St. Paul) admits that God's discipline can be extreme a times... but in the end that's a good thing. It is what makes us stronger in our faith and character. It is what makes us spiritual Tito Jackson's... or Jermaine or whichever one you prefer.

The crux of St. Paul's argument is structured around God's discipline as a way of Him showing love. Sounds familiar kids? You know, the whole "this is going to hurt me a lot more than it will hurt me" line. Or maybe there is more to it. Maybe when Paul uses the imagery of chastisement and discipline we shouldn't be thinking of spanking and or beating. Maybe we should be thinking of a form of discipline that actually instills discipline... like athletic discipline. Maybe it is the father's role as a coach that Paul is conjuring. You may not be familiar with this but sure am. My parents stopped spanking me somewhere between 7-9 years old. Now they still disciplined me and it still was physical discipline. When I got in the "spanking level" of trouble he would have me run laps outside my house. I lived two houses away from the corner so this consisted of me running back and forth several times. In the scheme of things it wasn't that bad, but it was just weird and slightly embarrassing when you had to do it at like 9 p.m. in ordinary clothes. After asking me a few times if I was trying out for the track team my neighborhood friends eventually caught wind of what was going on... and comedic hijinks ensued. As an adult I can (grudgingly) appreciate what my dad did and will probably initiate such familial hazing tactics on my own children one day. Eventually my dad stretched into other things like push ups and sit ups. As a Navy veteran he understood that he couldn't prevent me from making mistakes in life, but maybe in disciplining me he could leave me with good practices that would help me grow. Sometimes it may seem that God is just giving us spiritual beatings but in actuality he may just be leading us in spiritual exercises. Ones that will build strength, character and faith.

The second leg of St. Paul's support for divine discipline is that by disciplining us it shows that he recognizes us as sons/daughters. We live in a time with all types of family structures. There are many readers who may not have a working relationship with their biological fathers. A generation or two ago that was a pretty scandalous situation to find ones self in. If you go back even further your social and legal standing were even affected by your presumed "legitimacy." The difference between a man's treatment of his children that he produced inside or outside of marriage was not only a matter of legitimacy and illegitimacy but also a matter or acknowledgment. If a man's children were produced outside of marriage (especially if it was while he simultaneously in a marriage) he would not acknowledge being related to them (in an effort to save his false reputation). In declining to acknowledge the children he would also decline his duties as a father: one of those being disciplining the children. So with this being the unspoken rule of the day, Paul uses this code as an allegory with our relationship to God. God disciplining us proves that he acknowledges his spiritual paternity of us. And that spiritual paternity, as well as the discipline is based in His love of us. Honestly that is a quick test of legitimate and illegitimate Christian outlooks to life. Where does spiritual discipline fit in? If there is no spiritual discipline there is no spiritual growth and no quality time with your spiritual Father.

St. Paul finishes by acknowledges that spiritual discipline can suck at times. Nobody naturally enjoys... and if they say that they do then they are probably just trying to impress people in church. But, the apostle interjects, it produces fruit. Wait, wait.. are we mixing metaphors here Paul? Are we talking about fatherly discipline or farming? This is starting to sound a little like Ross Perot, who once stated the mixed metaphor of " People don’t change from lions to rabbits in mid-flight". But there is biblical precedent for this mixed metaphor... specifically from Jesus.

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
- John 15:1-2

When Jesus refers to God the Father as being the "husbandman" he is using an old school term for a farmer. If you attended a State University that had an Agricultural & Mechanical focus (like Texas A&M or FAMU) then you probably know that the "animal husbandry" program referred to a program for people studying farming (and not some group of weirdos that you should shy away from). All farmers and gardeners engage in pruning: intentionally cutting and removing dead parts of the plant to encourage growth. It is like disciplining a plant. If we are the Body of Christ, then God (as a responsible farmer) prunes us from time to time. Pruning is nurturing discipline to make the vine as fruitful as possible. When God prunes us he disciplines us and this discipline encourages growth.

So even after the breakdown of the verse you may be still comparing God to Joe Jackson. Specifically you may be asking the same question asked about Joe Jackson, Joe Simpson (Jessica Simpson's dad) and the parents of all child musicians and actors: is God more of a father or a manager? Is he producing children or talent? Not to criticize these real life parents of "industry kids", but I feel like the key difference between God's parenting and the industry parent stereotype is the reliance on one's children for employment. God has no financial gain wrapped up in producing his children into spiritual stars. It can be argued that, God in Christ, He actually lost much to gain us. Even though God created all of mankind, He lost us in the Fall of Man into Sin. Since that point every person has been born into this world with the assumption that they are spiritually illegitimate... without a spiritual Father. It is with this assumption of loneliness that the Gospel conflicts. It tells us that we are not alone in this world but victims that have been kidnapped by Sin. Victims with a loving Father knows us by name. A loving Father that thinks of us constantly and longs to have us again. A loving father that gave up His Son Jesus in an effort to pay our ransom. A loving father that has nothing to gain from loving us but everything to give. So when you are chastised by God, think of how much He valued and cared for you. When you understand this truth about spiritual discipline then you will be able to appreciate and recognize true spiritual growth... until you grow up to have the features of your spiritual Father.