Friday, May 20, 2011

May 20 Disciplining for Eternity

May 20 Disciplining for Eternity and Of Hidden Motives


First I want to speak a moment with my readers. Just because I do not write a post does not mean I have not read either our devotional or the Word of God in some form. It is not that I think there is some special merit to going through the motions of "doing devos," and I need to confess to you or justify my absence from these pages. However, I do believe that this practice of using a devotional can be one tool in developing or growing intimacy with the Father.

Wednesday we visited our son and his family, and I would appreciate your continued prayers for his recovery. It looks like this is a months' long endeavor.

Yesterday I attended a conference for work, a conference with other counseling professionals from colleges and universities in northeastern Pennsylvania. It as a very helpful conference dealing with the care of care-givers or counselors...helping us identify how to do a self-check to make sure that we are people-helping for the right motives and then how to care for ourselves so that we remain healthy enough to do a good job. I will be reworking some of that material for our Res Hall Staff here at BBC.

Now to some other notes:

Proverbs 23:13-14 Do not withhold discipline from a child, if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

While we were at my son's house the other day, my three-year-old grandson misbehaved. He was given a time-out on the stairs - the stairs led up to the bedroom level and we could see him from the dining room. He trooped over to the stairs and sat there knowing he was missing the dinner fellowship because of his disobedience. Earlier in the day, he was told to clean up his cars, and when he failed to do so, his mother started to count. She didn't get to 2 before he began the (to him) arduous and unpleasant task.

This verse came to my mind, the subject of discipline in general. At the time this proverb was written, the concept of time out had not been invented. In that culture, the idea of time out meant nothing. There were no TV shows, or games, or play dates, or whatever that a child could be restricted from. Discipline meant some kind of corporal punishment. Not so today.

Discipline today can be as effective, for most children, without the rod being used. The important elements are consistency, unpleasantness, and relevance to the child. I had a friend who said his three children would respond differently to a time out. One would love it - that child delighted in alone time. Another would love it because there were may things to entertain him in his room. The third one would hate it because of his social nature. So for discipline to be effective, it must be thoughtful.

I think God is thoughtful in the way he disciplines or shapes our lives as well. Sometimes he uses the words of a friend. Sometimes even the unkind words, with the ring of truth in them, from an acquaintance. Sometimes we must learn from the consequences of our choices. God knows how to get our attention, but He leaves the response to us. Tommy is three, but he knows already what is expected of him and what the consequences are. Sometimes he chooses well, and sometimes not so well...but he is learning. I pray that you and I pay attention and that we are so often in fellowship with God that we recognize His voice of warning when we begin to tread in unsafe territory.

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