Who likes to be disciplined? I know as a kid I would try to be sneaky thinking I could outsmart my parents. Though I believed I was so smart, 99.9% of the time I was caught and when I was, I was disciplined hard. I never liked it. I always acted like I was being put in prison or something. What kid actually likes being disciplined?
To this day, as an adult I still do not like to be disciplined. Why? Because it goes against every fiber of my being (or flesh for you theologians). It calls out my pride and it tells me "no" to things I want to say yes. Some of the same reactions as a kid come in the same form as an adult (adults pouting is so pathetic!).
Though I dislike discipline, Scripture tells me that it is good for me. Hence when I came upon this verse in Psalm 94:12-" "Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law."
I wonder if my parents thought they were blessing me when I got spanked or wasn't allowed to watch my favorite TV shows: Airwolf or Quantum Leap (early 90's shows, yes I'm dating myself).
Why would I be blessed to be disciplined by God?
See when God disciplines us, it is to draw us closer to Him. His discipline keeps us focused on the heavenly and holy things as children of the Most High God. We see this same statement clearly in Hebrews 12:5-11. In this passage we gain 4 things about discipline:
-Discipline should never be taken lightly (12:5-6)
-Discipline is a sign that God loves us as His children (12:7)
-In the present discipline seems painful (its not supposed to be fun) but it will develop "fruits of righteousness" (12:11)
I woke up one morning at 5:45am and God really gripped my heart and here is what the Spirit told me in regards to discipline (something I'm still learning):
The motivation of God's discipline is love.
The object of God's discipline is holiness.
Did you get that? I did put it in bold and made it bigger. God loves us so much that he wants the best for us. He wants us to see Him through the midst of our discipline. It is completely motivated by His love for you and I. I know my mom wasn't bored and I got in trouble because I was innocent. I needed that discipline. But she did it because she loved me!
At the same time the object of God's discipline is that you would look more like Him and less like you. Be holy, because He is holy type mentality. Powerful stuff!
Be Blessed!
