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Discipline

                 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. (Proverbs 3:11-12)

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9)

Quite often, when the subject of discipline comes up, punishment is the real topic of discussion. Let’s put that aside quickly with the statement that punishment and discipline are not the same thing. There are times when punishment may be used as tool for discipline, but it should not be the automatic response.

Since God is wise, He knows that not all people need the same sort of discipline. One person may only respond to strong measures while another will respond to what they think is “a look” from God. Put another way, some of us respond to hearing our first name, while others respond to first and middle, or first, middle, and last. There are some who won’t respond to anything short of being picked up by the scruff of the neck or the belt, being carried to the site of the discipline, and stood over until the task is complete.

The goals of God’s discipline are that we would be conformed to the image of Christ, and that we would be fruitful and self-disciplined (which are part of being conformed to the image of Christ.) Consider the discipline Jesus faced: first, submission to His parents, but also the forty days of temptation in the wilderness and the three years of temptations in His ministry. Then, there was Gethsemane, the betrayal, the denials, the arrest and trials, and the execution. 

This is what is described in the Hebrews 5 passage above. There is a great deal more that should be said about this passage, on another day. For now, the point is that while discipline can involve correction, it doesn’t have to.

We also tend to think of discipline as harsh or over the top. The athlete who practices some move a hundred times a day, of a thousand times a day is disciplined, we think. Paying our bills on time or brushing our teeth every night somehow aren’t disciplines – until we’re trying to teach a child or ourselves to do them.

It should be no surprise that as I considered this proverb, Dallas Willard’s model came to mind. Where does my heart (will, spirit) need discipline? Or my mind (thoughts, emotions)? Where doesn’t my body need discipline? My relationships? My soul (which coordinates all the others)? Prayerfully, what about yours? It doesn’t have to be something huge. 

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