Discipline Part II: When Discipline Gets Up Close and Personal

Have you ever been shocked to find yourself on the receiving end of some discipline or correction? Maybe the following thoughts have crossed your mind, "Whoa! What happened? How did I get here? This is not the normal me. How embarrassing!" Or maybe you even saw it coming and were waiting for the consequences that were sure to follow. Either way, receiving discipline or correction is not typically something we look forward to.

Unfortunately, we can surprise ourselves at times with our own behavior. It can be all too easy to get caught up in the ways of the world and allow ourselves to become entwined with the bad thoughts Satan puts in our minds. We then can find ourselves perpetuating negative thinking or contributing in negative ways to our environment. We must remember that we are all sinners by nature and can easily give in to the temptation of sin if we are not fortifying ourselves many times a day. God expects us to obey the authorities in our lives...our bosses, parents, supervisors, coaches, teachers, our government, etc. Proverbs 1:2-3 NLT tells us, "Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair." The most important thing we have to remember is that we should not dwell on the slip or focus on the discipline itself, but we should instead respond in an appropriate way that is honoring to God. Our response should represent our Christian walk to those around us. The message we send by our response can either help others to gain a better understanding of what a Christian is or it can turn them away with the idea that Christians are hypocrites. So how do we do this? How do we accept discipline in such a way that Christ can be seen and honored in the midst?



First, we should graciously acknowledge our mistake. Proverbs 10:17 says, "People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray." We are encouraged to embrace each experience as a learning opportunity. Proverbs 12:1 NLT says, "To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction." Proverbs 13:1 tells us, "A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline; a mocker refuses to listen to correction." When we openly admit that we were in the wrong, we are giving God an opportunity to demonstrate His power of forgiveness and grace. We are also laying our pride aside and humbling ourselves as we are called to do in James 4:10 NIV, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”


Next, we need seek to understanding, figuring out where and when our thinking went wrong. Hebrews 12: 11 NLT says, "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." We know that God lovingly disciplines His children as evidenced by Hebrews 12:6-10 MSG that says, "Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children." Once we understand our mistake, we can work on correcting the issue and not falling into the same trap when temptation appears again.

Lastly, we should use our experience to teach others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 MSG encourages us to do just that by saying, "All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too." For if we can help others through our mistakes, we become purposeful in our learning and make the error a valuable experience.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us to receive discipline, coaching, and training as it is intended. Help us to not personalize our mistakes and take correction as an affront, but to accept it as meaningful feedback. Guide us as we experience this uncomfortable training so that we can graciously and humbly use it to point others to You with our response. It is in Jesus' all powerful name we pray...Amen.