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Discipline That Brings Life
Proverbs 13:18 'He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.' (NIV)
 Whether in the home, in the school, or in society at large applying healthy discipline is about developing accountability. Somebody has said there are three stages in growing up: dependence (when I a need others for everything), independence (when I think I need others for nothing), and interdependence (when I know I need others for the important things in life). The aim of parental discipline is to teach children to make decisions responsibly, with an awareness of their accountability to others. Maturity says: I am free to make my own choices, but I am not free to escape the consequences of bad choices, and others will also benefit or suffer through my choices. In the end, we discipline our children so that they will learn how to discipline themselves. That's God's goal when he disciplines our lives. He is teaching us to discipline ourselves. He wants us to be able to measure for ourselves the long-term effects of our choices. We shouldn't run from God's discipline, we should embrace it. Why does God cut back a fruitful tree? So that it bears more fruit in the long-term.
Prayer: 'Lord, thank you for taking time to discipline my life and guide my steps. Help me to learn self-discipline, so that I am never held back from my true destiny by my own weakness.'
© 2003-2004 Mal Fletcher
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