“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” -Matt 7:13-14 " (RSV)
God does not punish us; He
disciplines us. There is a difference! Punishment comes from the desire to hurt
the other person in retaliation for him hurting you. Discipline is for the purpose of teaching us self-discipline, a
trait paramount for our success in life.
As we embrace God’s
chastening, the correction of an employer or the advice of a parent, we grow in
wisdom and maturity. When we face a rebuke, we can feel encouraged that the
person cares enough about us to speak up and make the correction. God uses discipline to teach us to use self-control. The Bible
tells us that the Lord loves those He chastens, and that if He does not correct
us, then we are not His sons (Hebrews 12:6). Thank God that He disciplines us
for straying from the straight and narrow road.
Although it requires a great
deal of effort, we also need to discipline our children. They need to learn
that there are consequences for negative behaviors. Nurturing discipline helps
prepare children to achieve self-control, self-discipline, proficiency in
decision-making, and consideration for others. We do this by affirming their
behavior when we see them doing something positive, by providing them with
opportunities to make wise choices and to develop ownership and responsibility of
their own lives a little at a time, and also by helping them to learn to use
their words to express their feelings rather than to use foul language or to
strike out physically when they are frustrated or angry. Loving discipline is a
positive tool in encouraging all human beings to excel to their utmost for
God’s pleasure.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to embrace
Your discipline and to learn from it what You want me to know. Thank you for
loving us enough to keep us on the straight and narrow road. Help us to
discipline our children so that they can grow up as self-disciplined adults who
make productive citizens and Godly saints.
Thought for the Day:
When
parents are angry, irritable, depressed, fatigued, and stressed they
are more likely to use corporal punishment instead of loving discipline, or to
use a permissive parenting style that teaches children nothing.
