WHY AND WHEN PUNISHMENT WORKED
Inhumane punishment directly caused pain (cutting off a finger or whipping or stoning someone) while more civilized punishment would take away money (fines) or freedom (prison). In a more humane manner, civilized punishment caused people to feel the pain of loss. To be a better person and avoid making mistakes, many people worshipped God by making offerings or sacrifices. By giving up something for God, they felt the pain of loss, and as a result they became more aware of right and wrong or the best course of action for them. Making sacrifices to God had clear benefits.
By feeling pain we are automatically induced to correct our thoughts and actions.
Though this may seem bizarre, think for a moment about your common experience. Often, after a loss, when we feel the pain of that loss, we experience our regret and resolve to do things differently and learn from our mistakes. Feeling pain motivates change to avoid pain in the future. In addition, by being more aware of our feelings, we can tap into greater creativity and intuition from our inner potential. The ability to know right from wrong comes from our feelings. Feelings, whether negative (pain) or positive (pleasure), help us to make needed adjustments.
With this motivation, we open our minds and question what we have done. This inner questioning is the basis of self-correction. Unless we are motivated to change, we remain stuck in our narrow and limited ways of thinking. Pain is our greatest teacher, because it motivates us to make adjustments in the way we do things. It causes us to question and rethink what is best for us and for others.
When people were numb to their feelings thousands of years ago, they needed punishment to connect with their feelings. With a greater awareness of their feelings, they could then accept or recognize what was right and reject what was wrong. Gradually, after being punished for centuries, just the thought of punishment was enough to awaken the feelings. Rule by punishment was necessary to sustain order and to enable a person to lead a good life.