He grabbed his daughter (who was probably less than 4 years old) by the arm and began spanking her right there in the vestibule.
Like wailing away, whipping the tar out of her bottom, literally beneath the Warner Sallman "Head of Christ" painting hanging on the wall above the big wood table carved with the words "Do This In Remembrance of Me."
This happened after the service ended, as they were leaving the building. I don't remember what the sermon was about but then, maybe he hadn't been listening very closely either.
I still remember it was summer and his sport coat was powder-blue and her little dress was yellow. Her shoes were black and she wore white socks so it might well have been Easter. I was only six years old but what I remember most was the other deacons standing there watching, and not saying ... much less doing, a thing about it.
I guess they weren't startled or outraged by what they saw, because whipping a child during a fit of rage wasn't new, irreverent, shocking or contrary to their religion. Or even inconsistent with how they saw themselves as deacons.
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Took me a long, long time to lose my uneasiness about inviting friends to church. Much less tell people why Jesus wanted to be invited into their hearts so he could change their lives.
--- ---
"Well Joseph, you were little back then. You couldn't know the whole story and shoot, you just can't jump into a man's private business over the least little thing. Come to think of it, how a man treats his family is none of your business at all."
Baloney, Brother.
No man should ever treat his daughter like she's "the least little thing" --- and if he can't control his temper then he shouldn't be allowed near her in the first place. Much less serve as a deacon.
If a deacon showed up at church drunk, consulted tarot cards for answers during committee meetings ("Let's cast runes before voting to pick colors for the restrooms"), helped himself to some lunch money from the offering plate, suggested turning his wife's WMU meetings into orgies or opened the invocation with an appeal to Beelzebub you can bet you'd see deacons jumping in like they'd never jumped before.
All those things- drunkenness, witchcraft, stealing and adultery are evil sho 'nuff ... but fits of rage? Wrath? Well, what's wrong with blowing off a little steam, and smacking little folks around who can't hit back? Even if they love you, depend on you ... look up to you and worship the ground you walk on?
"Yeah Joe, but sometimes a kid needs jacking up, or you gotta light up their bottom, wear-out their heiney, jerk a pure knot in 'em, tear up their rear ends or take a peach switch to their behind till it bleeds ... just to teach 'em how to act and show 'em how you care."
Come on, Brother. Doesn't blowing up and scaring the bejeez outta people feel good deep inside? Down really deep, where it's dark? Oh heck yeah it does ... it's almost right there with sex. And Paul's real clear it's a sin to lose control there, too.
Galatians 5:19-23
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." - NIV
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." - King James Version
