Well, that sure sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? How many of us would use the word divine to describe discipline, even remotely? As I think back upon my childhood and the times my parents, especially my father, disciplined me, I wouldn’t consider those scrapbook moments! They typically involved verbal reproof and physical pain in a tag-team combination of teaching and behavior modification. I could regale you with stories about specific times and places where I received, um, admonishment shall we say? But, rather than getting into the minutia of it all, let’s suffice it to say that as a young boy I did not fully comprehend or appreciate the worth I was being shown during those acts of discipline. The whole, “This is going to hurt me worse than you” was an absolute crock to me!
But over the years, something strange happened; I grew up and became a dad myself. And in the process of morphing from the child to the parent, I learned that discipline really is an act of love. We correct our children because we care about them and want what is best for them in the long-term, rather than abstaining from discipline because we’re interested in their approval in the short-term. A parent is a partner with the Holy Spirit to guard and shape a child’s character and integrity, and discipline is a God-given tool that we are advised to use. In fact, we’re more than advised to use it, we’re commanded to use it.
Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
Proverbs 13:24Proverbs 13:24
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
24 If you love your children, you will correct them; if you don't love them, you won't correct them.
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It wouldn’t be popular to mention this verse around the water cooler at most offices, because it flies in the face of everything that society teaches about discipline. But, if you want to base your life on truth rather than trends, and fact rather than Phil, there it is. Parents who love their children care enough to discipline them. Those who do NOT discipline their children, in actuality, hate them! Harsh sounding? Maybe, but God doesn’t beat around the bush. (Okay there was that one that was on fire, but you get the point)
Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death.
Proverbs 23:13-14Proverbs 23:13-14
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
-12- 13 Don't fail to correct your children. You won't kill them by being firm, 14 and it may even save their lives.
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Disciplining our children shows them, whether they realize it immediately or not, that we love them and care about who they become. Discipline actually has the capacity to save them from a world of evils, pain, and ultimately death. God knows that, and that is exactly why He disciplines His children as well.
My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never discipline by his father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
Hebrews 12:5Hebrews 12:5
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
5 ; . But you have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God's children, “When the Lord punishes you, don't make light of it, and when he corrects you, don't be discouraged.
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There were times, as a child, when I was being disciplined by my earthly dad when I can honestly say I wished I wasn’t his son. The pain of his correction hurt, and sometimes even seemed downright mean and unjustified. I remember thinking about how mistreated and borderline abused I was. I didn’t deserve this! But, my longings for escape from the punishment had no bearing whatsoever on the fact that I was my father’s son. And as such, I was his responsibility to train and teach to follow Christ. (Proverbs 22:6Proverbs 22:6
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
6 . Teach your children
right from wrong,
and when they are grown
they will still do right.
WP-Bible plugin) I’m not sure that my children have ever wished for a different dad when I’ve corrected and punished them, but even if they did, it wouldn’t change the truth regarding whose they are. They are my children, and my responsibility. They are actually my privilege to raise to follow God. And I am overwhelmed by that.
The same is true with us in the spiritual sense. We are God’s children, and it is His responsibility to correct us and reprove us when we disobey and rebel. And when we feel the sting of His correction and may long for a less painful method of teaching, it doesn’t change one iota of the fact that God is our Heavenly Father, that we are His beloved children, and that He sees it as a privilege to be not only our Savior and Lord, but also our Dad. I’m still learning what it is to fully embrace His correction, but in my heart I know He does it because He cares so much about me and that it is always for the best. (Romans 8:28)
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