This is part of my year-long series exploring human-centered alternatives to the spiritual promises in Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest. Today’s entry, “The Inevitable Penalty”, promises that God imposes divine discipline through the Holy Spirit’s “scrutiny” until believers achieve purity, claiming those who don’t respond to conviction will be in spiritual “prison” until they “pay the last penny” and that God will “tax the last limits of the universe” to help once they surrender.
“The Holy Spirit is convicting you about something,” her church counselor insisted. “God won’t let you escape his scrutiny. You’re in spiritual prison until you pay the last penny. What is your conscience telling you to do? What debt do you owe from God’s standpoint?”
Here’s what waiting for God to tax the limits of the universe actually delivered:
Michelle’s marriage was disintegrating. Her husband’s drinking had escalated into verbal abuse, then controlling behavior, then threats. But instead of addressing these problems directly, her counselor demanded spiritual self-examination. Surely Michelle’s marital crisis revealed some hidden sin requiring divine discipline.
She searched desperately for whatever spiritual failure was causing her suffering. Perhaps she wasn’t submissive enough? Maybe her frustration with her husband’s drinking revealed a judgmental spirit? She confessed every potential failing, wrote apology letters, tried harder to be the perfect Christian wife.
Surely addressing these spiritual debts would restore her relationship with God and heal her marriage.
But the promised divine intervention was a dangerous delusion.
Michelle’s husband’s drinking escalated despite her spiritual efforts. His verbal abuse became more frequent and cruel. The “inevitable penalty” she was supposedly serving felt like being trapped in actual hell, not being purified by divine love.
The breaking point came when her husband shoved her during an argument, leaving bruises on her arms. Even then, her church counselor insisted she examine her own spiritual condition. “God is determined to make you pure,” he reminded her. “What is he trying to show you about your disposition?”
Meanwhile, Michelle’s sister Janet had watched this spiritual victim-blaming with growing alarm. As a domestic violence advocate, Janet recognized the classic pattern of making victims responsible for their abusers’ behavior through religious manipulation.
“This isn’t about your spiritual condition,” Janet said bluntly. “This is about your safety. You need professional help, not more self-examination.”
When Michelle finally contacted a domestic violence counselor, she learned that abuse escalates over time and that no amount of victim self-improvement changes abuser behavior. The counselor helped her develop a safety plan, connect with legal resources, understand that leaving wasn’t spiritual failure but necessary self-protection.
Michelle’s breakthrough came when she stopped waiting for God to “tax the limits of the universe” to help her and started using human resources designed for domestic violence situations.
Where was the divine scrutiny that was supposed to lead to purity? Where was God’s glorious ministry of love that would set her relationship right?
The spiritual “prison” she’d been told to endure was real imprisonment in an abusive marriage. The “inevitable penalty” wasn’t divine discipline but human suffering that could be addressed through practical intervention.
The relationship that got “set right” wasn’t with God but with professional advocates who provided actual protection while spiritual counselors had offered only more victim-blaming.
The silence where God’s re-creating forces were supposed to work revealed the truth: there was no divine scrutiny keeping her trapped, no spiritual debt requiring payment. Only human systems that provided real help when she stopped seeking spiritual solutions to practical problems.
Reflection Question: When has seeking professional help for serious problems been more effective than examining your spiritual condition for hidden sins?
This story is part of my upcoming book “The Undevoted: Daily Departures from Divine Dependence,” which offers 365 human-centered alternatives to the spiritual certainties in Chambers’ devotional. Each day explores how reason, community, and human resilience can address life’s challenges without requiring divine intervention.
God or Delusion? 