The Day My Father Slapped Me

One moment of correction shaped my entire life. This is the story of why the hardest thing a parent can do is sometimes the most loving.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Good morning. This is Northword.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

The day my father slapped me across the face was a day of amazing grace. Good morning, this is Northword, the Word of the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron. Today's episode is brought to you by Petro Canada and Tim Hortons in Fort Smith, fueling this community for every journey with both caffeine and gasoline. When I was five years old, yeah, I know that intro, it sounded a bit rough. But when I was five years old, here's the story. I stepped off a curb in New York City. It was a red light, and I'm stepping into traffic, and before I've taken my second step, my dad grabs me by the arm and slaps me in the face. Not because he was angry. Not because he was frustrated. Not because he was trying to be a tough guy. Not because my father was abusive. The man had not an abusive bone in his body. He was truly a loving man. He grabbed me and slapped me because he raised me. He loved me. And his deepest desire was that I would have a long and fulfilled life. That is the difference between punishment and discipline. Punishment is reactive. It responds to what you did wrong. It's about offense. Discipline is proactive. It's about the pattern. It says I love you enough to shape you into who you are meant to be, even if that shaping is sometimes uncomfortable. When my father corrected me that day, he was not punishing the five-year-old who stepped into the traffic. He was disciplining the man I was meant to become. He was saying, I see your future, and I will not let you throw it away because you did not know better. This is how God works in our lives. When hardship comes, and it will come, our first instinct is to ask, What did I do wrong? As if every difficulty is a punishment. But the church has always taught something different. Scripture says in Hebrew chapter 12, the Lord disciplines those he loves. Not punishes, disciplines. There is a difference. The punishment falls on someone guilty. The discipline is given to someone beloved. A parent who never corrects a child does not love that child more. They love them less. A God who never allows difficulty in your life does not want your comfort. He wants your character. The question to ask when hard things come is not what did I do wrong? It is what is God forming in me? And the question changes how we see our lives. This has been Northward, the Word of the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith, in collaboration with the Anglican family. God disciplines those he loves. If you are in a hard season right now, that may be the most important thing you can hear today. And if you're in that hard season, well, use the text us link in the description below to reach out. Let us know how we can pray for you. And until tomorrow, may God be with you.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Amen.