Washing a child’s profane or dishonest mouth out with soap is one of those clever punishments quickly being cast aside in the name of sophistication and progress. Gone are the days of cutting your own switch or visiting the woodshed as well.

The old Irish Spring mouthwash was clever, if not always effective. Obviously, the intent was figurative – to suggest to the child a connection between a dirty mouth and immediate punishment. Some children gurgled up promises never to soil their lips in that way again, while others simply resolved to be more discreet in their vile utterances (Ephesians 4:29). Like a good grounding or spanking, however, “the moment of all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11, ESV). Many who endured this pertinent punishment found that their mouths were not only clean, but that they were “zestfully clean!”

Without advocating a new era of lathery mouth-washing, there is a certain eerie precedent in the ancient history of the Old Testament. While Moses tarried on the mountain, the pilgrims who had fled Egyptian captivity through a parted sea became anxious and persuaded Aaron to mold them a calf-god which they could worship. When Moses finally returned and saw what was happening, “his anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it” (Exodus 32:19-20).

Had Moses access to a little ascorbic acid and the collective insight of our space program, he might have invented Tang that day, but I doubt this strange concoction had much tang to it. The calf, after all, was made from metal and clearly not diluted enough to erase the bitter aftertaste of transgression. Moses’ cocktail was one part punishment and one part deterrent – just like a mouthful of Lever 2000.

Yet we would no more advocate the grinding and imbibing of modern idols than we would a resurrection of the soapy mouthwash. The real imprint of this event is in the power of swallowing the consequences of one’s own mistakes, whatever they may be.

We all yearn for grace, mercy and forgiveness when we err. We apologize, repent and trust that God will forgive us, while hoping that the people we have wronged might do likewise. The Holy Spirit spilled a gallon of ink to convince Christians that they should be instinctively forgiving, rather than bearing grudges, pursuing vengeance and following after malice (Colossians 3:12-13, James 2:13). Towering above all else is the promise of divine grace to the penitent sinner, although “the wages of sin is death … the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The sticking point is that in the hope of ensuring our claim to eternal life, God will occasionally cause us to bear the heavy temporal burden of the consequences of our bad choices (Galatians 6:4-5). “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” (Hebrews 12:9-10).

Peter warned that the severity of various trials tests the “genuineness of your faith” (1 Peter 1:7) and it can be a severe trial to face the fallout of one’s own sin. In some circumstances, the penitent might even pray for relief and be denied, simply because God the Father sees that there is a lesson only punishment can teach; lifting the burden too quickly would result in a missed opportunity for growth.

Sometimes we need to drink the bitter consequences of our sin and not be saved from it by anyone. The drinker needs to be hung over without compassion. The shoplifting teen needs to sit in a jail cell for a few hours. The slothful employee needs to be bawled out or dismissed. Sometimes, we just refuse to learn any other way. If someone is too quick to bail us out – even if that someone is God—we are just not going to learn anything.

Parents often face this dilemma as their children go astray, perhaps only slightly, and perhaps more due to omission than commission. Some commit immorality while others only shirk their responsibilities and wind up in hot water at school or with the police or someone else. Many will complain that they are being singled out or mistreated, that peers or the authority figure is really to blame. Mom and Dad feel the rush of adrenalin as the nest is threatened and want to swoop in to save the day and beat back the invaders. We want to wipe away the tears and make everything better. But do we?

In reality, we might be doing more harm than good – much more harm than a deserved bad grade, Saturday detention, community service or tongue-lashing. We might be depriving our offspring of an opportunity to learn independence, godly self-reliance and the immutable truth that one tends to reap what he sows (Galatians 6:7-9). If they’re sowing brussel sprouts by bad behavior, it isn’t right for us to make sure they’re fed sweet corn instead.

As parents, we are attempting to raise our children so well that someday they will not need us anymore. At least, they will not need us to fight their battles, do their time and wipe their noses. The process must start when their cruising is accomplished on chubby little legs between the sofa and the coffee table, long before they’re cruising in a Camaro at the Strip.

We are reminded that, “Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard” (Proverbs 13:15, KJV). Experience is the most unforgiving teacher and negative consequences impart the most indelible lessons.

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