WARNING!

They do things differently here in Australia. No insipid statutory warnings on packs of cigarettes. No wimpy statements in tiny fonts. Nope! Instead, scary pictures and ominous words. You have been warned!

The Aussie Board in control of these matters mandates that 90% of the area of one side of a pack of cigarettes be taken with gory and graphic warnings, as well as 30% of the other side. In addition another warning on the deleterious effects of chemicals in tobacco smoke occurs on one full (lateral) side of the pack. Only the remaining areas may bear the name and logo of the cigarette manufacturer and the particular brand.

Fourteen gruesome warnings of tobacco-caused dire diseases are mandatorily rotated on packets, along with the national “Quitline” phone number and “Quitnow” website address. All ordained by the government to compel consumers to think twice before lighting up.

And apparently these warnings are beginning to have an effect. Annabel, the 6-year-old daughter of one of my friends here, Down Under, asserts, “They cut off your toes if you smoke!” Yup, folks give heed. Yup, warnings work.

Nothing wrong with scaring folks with the truth.

The Bible does that, too. In it, there is a stark and scary warning of discipline for those of God’s children who disobey.

… you have forgotten the exhortation
which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly
the discipline of the LORD,
nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
for those whom the LORD loves
He disciplines, and He scourges
every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:5–6

Just as earthly fathers discipline their children.

God deals with you as with sons;
for what son is there
whom his father does not discipline?
But if you are without discipline,
of which all have become partakers,
then you are illegitimate children
and not sons.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers
to discipline us, and we respected them;
shall we not much rather be
subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
Hebrews 12:7–9

Warnings are there for a purpose. They have a goal. Remedy. Reorientation. Restoration.

For they disciplined us
for a short time
as seemed best to them,
but He disciplines us for our good,
so that we may share His holiness.
Hebrews 12:10

For our good. For our transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ. For our sharing in God’s holiness. Therefore, these warnings exhort us, we must accept His discipline, and not reject it.

All discipline for the moment
seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;
yet to those who have been trained by it,
afterwards it yields
the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Hebrews 12:10–11

We are not just to accept it, but we are to change our lives to return and conform to the standards of God’s holiness.

“Those whom I love,
I reprove and discipline;
therefore be zealous and repent.”
Revelation 3:19

Warnings to be taken seriously! Ours is a good God, a loving God, a holy God, and we are to both love and fear Him. His warnings we are to take to heart.

“You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might. …
You shall fear only the LORD your God;
and you shall worship Him ….”
Deuternonomy 6:5, 13

We have been warned!

All things considered, it’s probably a better idea, then, for us to change before incurring the discipline of the Lord whom we both love and fear.

I, for one, want to keep my toes!