Crime and Punishment

In the book Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky stresses the murder's fear of punishment was greater than the fear of the person that he had become.  A person who could  commit a double murder and theft. Martin Luther states that Godly people are afraid of the sin rather than the punishment. I think that is true. We should be afraid of offending God rather than be afraid that God will punish us. When my children were very young they always cried with shame when I would tell them that what they did was wrong. As they get closer to school age they begin the process of being afraid of the punishment rather than the actual wrong-doing. If only we could all stay innocent children who fear what sin will do to us rather than just afraid of the punishment we will receive.