Doling Out Discipline

 

The LORD disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in .

PROVERBS 3:12

 Our children are born with sweet dispositions, innocent minds, and pure hearts. We’d like to keep them that way, but sooner or later their humanness begins to show and they disobey us. Some missteps can be overlooked; others can be addressed with a simple conversation and time-out. Then we’re faced with situations that call for serious discipline.

Punishing our children can be one of the toughest responsibilities of motherhood. We want to wrap them in a hug, get their promise that they won’t do it again, and move on with assurance. When we look past our mother’s hearts, however, we realize that approach isn’t always what our children need.

The best way for our children to learn discipline is from us at home. Not that they’ll necessarily understand our reasoning. We can probably cringe at remembering a time when our children threw the “You don’t love me” accusation our way. The words cut straight through our hearts, but that’s when we remind our children (and ourselves) that discipline comes from God and is part of our job as parents.

Several places in the Bible direct parents to discipline their children and teach that although it isn’t fun at the moment, the benefits show in the long run. Verses also teach that we learn from being disciplined. Most importantly, we learn that disciplining our children is a way to show our love for them and that God also disciplines those He loves (see Proverbs 3:11–12).

 Disciplining our children can be easier if we’re prepared mentally and spiritually. We can start praying now that God will give us both grow from the experience and learn to honor God through it.

 Lord, disciplining my children can be so hard, but I know it needs to be done. Teach me to correct them while still showing love. Help them learn from it and understand my love for them will never change. Amen .