Proverbs 29:15-18 Discipline
As tough as it is to give AND receive, discipline is essential to any upbringing. Discipline doesn’t end with childhood though. It is critical in ALL phases of life!
Solomon tells us that discipline starts in the home. “A child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (verse 15b). If I have learned ANYTHING about working with children, it is that it is never too early to begin the journey of discipline. I’m not talking about spankings or even time out here but of teaching and training.
My step-daughter and her oldest child are a prime example of that. As an infant, her daughter was very lazy about eating. She wouldn’t cry out for food until she was past the point of comfort. Mommy spent many sleepless days and nights trying to calm her little one. Finally, mommy decided to put her daughter on a feeding schedule, whether she said she was hungry or not. Mommy also insisted her daughter take in enough to sustain her. She would wake her if she dozed off during eating until mommy was satisfied her child had eaten enough to keep her healthy. It paid off. Her daughter calmed down with the schedule and both were more content. Mommy still struggles getting this one to eat but ‘caring for her sister’ motivates her to use good habits.
Children are HUNGRY for structure, routine, and connections. These are the first tools we employ in the discipline/teaching process. Left without these key pieces, they grow up confused and often angry. We are born with a “me first” attitude that helps us survive. Yet, to fit into ANY group we have to learn to care about others too. This is ONLY accomplished with the parents or caretakers model that behavior and peach it to the children in their care. The requirements and methods of discipline change as the child grows. DON’T GIVE UP ON THEM! Adapt and adjust instead of throwing you hands up and saying, “What’s the use?” A father who LOVES his children disciplines and teaches them.
Discipline, as I stated earlier, does not end with childhood. Our ‘instructors’ change but the lessons keep on coming. The ones handing out the discipline now are called “bosses” or assistants. These people teach us yet another new role. They show us what is expected in the position we are now expected to fill. And if we fail to heed that discipline/teaching, we will find ourselves out of a job.
We are living in a world where the children whom the parents were afraid to discipline, are now taking the positions of power in our societies. We also have those children raising children whom they have no training in discipline. If you doubt this, consider how many “mass shooting” events happened before discipline became a dirty word. And these aren’t confined to adults acting out their aggression. Our schools are experiencing previously unheard-of acts of violence in them. This isn’t even confined to the shootings. Bullying and gangs have infiltrated every level and age. For the want of a rod. Not one for beating but one for correction and discipline.
We are in a time of evil rising, and I believe it is tied directly into the lack of discipline in the home from the beginning. Aristotle said, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.” Hitler focused on the youth to train up a soldier that would be loyal to him for life. Discipline/Training makes a difference! And the lack of it is devastating to the whole world.
God’s Law is our ultimate discipline. No. We don’t have to keep every single custom and restraint imposed by man onto God’s Law, but if we neglect the Spirit of that Law we are lost. The Spirit of the Law is love; love for God and love for your fellow man. Obedience to His word is foundational to that love and the more you know of Him the more your love grows and the more you desire to please Him. Accept gladly His ‘restraints’ on your life and you will see your life improve.
Father God, thank You for Your discipline. I know I bump up against Your boundaries more often than I want to. NOT that I want Your boundaries to move. I just wish my discipline was good enough that I never wandered from Your path. I PRAY that the discipline I raised my children with carries them back to Your paths. I pray also for them as they are raising their children in this world without discipline. There are things I don’t agree with in their methods but my grandchildren are good children. Grab hold of their lives too Father. My heart aches to see them in Your Kingdom.
