The Lord's discipline

Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV)

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in. 

A simple first glance of these two verses tells us that the Lord disciplines and rebukes those He loves.  He is like an earthly father (and/or mother) who disciplines and rebukes his/her son (or daughter).  Yet, these words and resultant thoughts seem harsh if you are a loving father or mother.  Let’s go beneath the surface and discover what these words of the Lord really mean. 

The Hebrew word for discipline (muwcar) means to correct or chasten while the Hebrew word for rebuke (towkechah) means to correct or reprove.  When Paul was describing the purpose of the word of God in II Timothy 3:16, what words did he use?   Two of them are correct and reprove.  Job 5:17-18 says that “Blessed is the man whom God corrects so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty”.  These verses (and others like I Cor 11:32, Heb 12:4-11, Rev 3:19) convey the deeper thought that God disciplines, rebukes, corrects, and reproves His children for our own good, for a higher purpose, to mold or sculpt His children to become all that He created us to be, to be more and more like Jesus.

What are reasons why parents discipline their children?  Among the most common are to keep them safe and healthy (e.g. correcting or rebuking when children do unsafe things like crossing a busy street or playing with fire or running when they should walk), to minimize or eliminate bad habits (e.g. selfish behavior, bullying others, profane talk), and to teach the importance of respecting authority (e.g. when children deliberately disobey a parent’s fair requirement).  The motives of a loving parent in using discipline are for the ultimate sake and good of the child.  The same motives are true in a much higher form and a more eternal purpose from God toward His children.

In fact, Jesus said in Luke 17:3 that if you see another Christian committing a sin, you are to rebuke him and if he repents, forgive him.  Just like what happens if parents don’t discipline their children, if a brother or sister is not rebuked for committing a sin, he/she will continue to commit that sin and such sin will get much worse and lead to irreparable harm.

You know how you might discipline your children and you know how you might approach someone else to help them see their sin, but how might the Lord discipline you?  Here are some of His ways:

·  Your being convicted of sin you are committing or omitting through studying His Word, through hearing His Word preached, or through the admonition of other loving brothers or sisters in Christ.

·  Suffering consequences of doing wrong by reaping what you have sown, by experiencing sorrow, pain, affliction, lack of peace (e.g. read Lev 26:14-27).

·  By allowing suffering to enter your life, not because of anything that you have done wrong, but in order to teach you and mold you into a more perfect individual, one with godly character and one who can then be used to help others in need.  An example is a cancer survivor who now can be used to help others deal with the fear and pain of their cancer.

We are to take the discipline of the Lord seriously just as parents are to take seriously their conscientious and appropriate disciplining of their children.  All of us are to receive such discipline in a positive way; that it is used to help make us much better people of character, reputation, and holiness.  Keep Proverbs 15:5 in mind-- “A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.”  Also always bear in mind that if the Lord did not love you, He wouldn’t care about you and wouldn’t concern Himself with disciplining you.  Think of yourself like an athlete on a team who is constantly disciplined by the coach because the coach knows how much better you can be and is not going to give up on you.

"Look upon your chastening as God's chariots sent to carry your soul into high places of spiritual achievement." -- Hannah Whithall Smith