Is Discipline Really Important?

"Discipline your son and he will give you rest;

he will give delight to your heart."

Proverbs 29:17

Today we are going to take a few minutes to look at why it is important to discipline children.

1.  God says to!  That's the most important reason,  but He gives us "why's".

2.  If a child is disciplined, he will give a parent rest.  [What parent doesn't need rest?] (Proverbs 20:17)

3.  He will give you delight. (29:17)

4.  Discipline will help her to develop wisdom, (Proverbs 29:15) and will enable a parent not to be ashamed of the child.

5.  Discipline preempts foolishness in a child (Proverbs 22:15).

6.  It protects him from judgment. (Proverbs 23:13-14)

7.  It cleanses them from evil and helps to develop good character. (Proverbs 20:30)

8.  It shows the child that he is truly loved. (Proverbs 13:24)

9.  Discipline teaches a child to love knowledge (Proverbs 12:1)

10. Rather to coming to poverty and disgrace, the child who receives the instruction of discipline is honored. (Proverbs 13:18)

11.It helps him gain understanding [or intelligence, ESV}.  (Proverbs 15:32)  

And let's remember that teaching a child through discipline helps him to learn to properly receive the discipline of the Lord.  As Christians we are so privileged to have a God who does not leave us to our own selfish devises, but disciplines us as a loving Father.  Praise His Name!

Hebrews 12:6-11

"For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.  It is for discipline that you have to endure.  God is treating you as sons.  For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.  Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

As we lovingly discipline our children, let's remember that we have a Holy Example, our Heavenly Father.  I pray for every mom and dad who love their children that they will not be neglectful to consistently discipline.  It's not fun, but it works.  God says so!

Enduring His discipline,

Gloria

I am linking today with Linda at Prairie Flower Farm

Building our Homes Together With God

http://prairieflowerfarm.blogspot.com/2011/07/9th-building-our-homes-together-with.html

Hungry?

"One who is full loathes honey, 

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet."

Proverbs 27:7

My daughters have a method for helping a child who doesn't want to eat his healthy food.  They put the plate aside and give it to him (or her) for the next meal.  If he refuses to eat it then, it is saved for the next meal.  Usually by then she is hungry enough to eat.  It may sound cruel but it isn't -and it works.  Interestingly, I have never seen one of them starve.

If I might have the liberty to philosophize a little, I believe that this verse can apply to much more than just physical food.  I think of one who is so full of himself that the sweet things in life allude him, like the blessings  of conversation and fellowship of others, or the honey of God's counsel through His Word.  When we begin to think that we have all we need for our own sustenance, we loathe the wonderful sweetness of real wisdom and feel that we have no need for others.  Hopefully our souls will become depleted of ourselves and we will begin to realize that we are hungry.  For some it takes a taste of the bitter food of life before we can make it to the honey.  And sometimes, as with Job, God allows it for our future good. 

"And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God,

to those who are the called according to His purpose." 

Romans 8:28.

If we are starving for the things of God, then even the bitter will be sweet. 

"I have esteemed the words of your mouth more than my necessary food." 

Job 23:12

I pray that we will grow from the bitter foods, those that we would not choose for ourselves but which God has deemed healthy for us, and that we will consider them sweet as we build spiritual muscle.  I pray as well, that as we taste the sweet honey of God that we won't be so full of ourselves that we loathe it, not appreciating its great value. This is a difficult lesson for me, because I like what I like.  Brussels sprouts are not my favorite, but when they are on my plate I know that they are good for me, so I must eat them.  If I am hungry, they are sweeter!  Even so life's lessons from the Lord.

Eating both the bitter and the sweet,

Gloria

Lazy Mary

"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion in the road!  

There is a lion in the streets!' 

As a door turns on its hinges,

so does a sluggard on his bed.

  The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; 

it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

  The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

than seven men who can answer sensibly."

Proverbs 26:12-15

Sluggard:  n. [from slug and ard, slow kind.] A person habitually lazy, idle and inactive; a drone. (Noah Webster)

Somehow lazy sounds much nicer than sluggard, but it isn't.  Sometimes I find myself feeling lazy; sometimes I find myself being lazy--okay, a sluggard.  That word really does make me want to move.  Have you ever watched a slug move?  He's slow, but there is also another quality of a slug that is disgusting:; he leaves an unpleasant trail behind him.  He's also very unattractive, a slimy sort of fellow. Does that sound like something that we want to be compared to?

These verses tell us a few things about a sluggard--a lazy Mary, if you would:

1.  Lazy Mary has an excuse (or makes one up) for her lack of discipline to get up and do what she should.  "There is a lion in the street." 

2.  She is in love with her ease, as Matthew Henry puts it.  She would rather make the effort to turn over in her bed when she gets tired of one side than to get up and do what is her duty.

3.  When she does get out of bed, her hands are so slow to move that she accomplishes nothing.  She wears herself out with the feeblest of things.

4.  She thinks she knows more than anyone else.  Her excuses to her are wiser reasoning than that of others who wisely try to counsel her.

More than just laziness for physical work, I believe there is a deeper sin that a sluggard possesses.  If one is too lazy to get out of bed, then that same person will be slack in spiritual growth, in prayer, in reading and studying  God's Word, and in ministering to a needy world.  There is no valid excuse for being a spiritual sluggard.  

Out of bed and ready for the day ahead,

Gloria

Honey, Wisdom, Neighbors, and Pooh

 

"My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb 

are sweet to your taste.  Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be a future, 

and your hope will not be cut off."

Proverbs 24:13-14

Like Winnie the Pooh, I do love honey--all varieties of honey--orange blossom, wildflower, clover, etc.  It's interesting that the Proverbs uses honey in several analogies and to give several  different types of lessons.  Here it is compared to wisdom.  I do love Winnie the Pooh, too, and I like some of his simple analogies very much.  Perhaps it's because simple is--well, simple to understand.  That helps me for some reason!  

About honey he said, 

"'That buzzing-noise means something. 

If there's a buzzing noise, "Somebody's making a buzzing-noise,

and the only reason for making a buzzing noise that I know of

is because you're a bee...And the only reason for being a bee

that I know of is making honey...

And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it.'

So he began to climb the tree."

Pooh went to an awful lot of effort to get that honey.  But for him it was worth every sweet, delectable bite.  For us humans, all the effort involved in getting wisdom is worth it.  Delicious!

Another verse in the Proverbs speaks of honey:

"If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.  

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, 

lest he have his fill of you and hate you.:

Proverbs 25:16

Pooh has a little to say about the neighbor's house and honey also

(in the story where he ate too much honey at Tigger's house):

"When having a smackerel

of something with a friend, 

don't eat so much that you get stuck

in the doorway trying to get out."

A wise quote!  It's always smart to know how much is too much, when it comes to honey or a visit with a friend.  Pick up a Winnie the Pooh book and read it to a child today.  You both may gain a bit of insight!

Having a little honey for breakfast,

Gloria

Hold It!

"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps

himself out of trouble."

Proverbs 21:23

When in a situation, 

when feeling consternation--

The best thing for you to say? 

Just keep your words at bay.

It really doesn't matter;

None want to hear your chatter.

An active tongue can hurt you.

So keep your words inside you.

It is difficult to control it;

The best way is to hold it.

There is a time to say,

But before you do, please pray.

Gloria

The Little Red Hen

"The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

he will seek at harvest and have nothing."

Proverbs 20:4

Remember the story of the little red hen? .  Oh, go ahead; watch the video.  You know you want to!  I think maybe the author was reading in the Proverbs when he decided to write that story.  I rather think it is not just for children but for us all.

What silly animals! we say.  How absurd of them to refuse to help when they could have had yummy homemade bread to eat.  All they had to do was  help out a little.  Mothers, please teach your children the value of hard work.  Don't allow them the non-beneficial temporary pleasure of growing up lazy.  You will have regrets.  Unfortunately, our society has provided through welfare and other means for people to be compensated for not working.  But the Bible clearly states that, ".If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)  We are doing a disservice to our children if we do not both live out this passage and teach them the value of work.  If your child refuses to work, don't let him eat!  He won't starve.  (Grandkids, I know you're loving this, aren't you?)

If you need a short Bible study project, look up the verses in the Proverbs that speak of the sluggard. In fact it would be a great project for the children to see what God has to say about the benefit of work versus slothfulness.  Have them do it if they are old enough to read. Have you ever noticed that God has the answers to life's questions if we will only seek them?

Have a busy, profitable day,

Gloria

I'm linking today with my friend Linda at Prairie Flower Farm:

http://prairieflowerfarm.blogspot.com/2011/07/8th-building-our-homes-together.html

Missing the Way

"Cease to hear instruction, my son, 

and you will stray from the words of knowledge."

Proverbs 19:27

"Desire without knowledge is not good, 

and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way."

Proverbs 19:2

I initially placed these verses in order of the text (I'm such a stickler for order), but there really is no order for the Proverbs for the most part.  They are merely individual words of instruction.  And these verses seem to relate, but in the order I placed them.

There is little that I have to say about the verses, because I believe they speak for themselves.  There is no riddle or hidden meaning.  Let's take a quick look at them.

"Cease to hear instruction."  Whose instruction?  For children, their parents and those in authority over them.  God's command is for children to obey their parents in the Lord.  As adult children we must answer to the Lord and obey His instruction.  How will the children hear and learn truth if we are not faithful to hear the instruction of the Lord?

"And you will stray from the words of knowledge."  The only way to stay on the right path is to continue to read the map.  Thinking we know the way without the instruction of a guide map will cause us to stray off the path.  

"Desire without knowledge is not good."  When our desires lack the knowledge to fulfill them properly no good usually comes from them.  A youth with lustful desires who does not have the knowledge to avoid their traps is in for no good ride.  To want something without understanding the possible repercussions can bring disaster.

"And whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way."  Let's not be in a hurry to do things.  Life is full enough for the time we are in without running into mischief, or taking chances on things that may bring untold misery on us. 

Listen to instruction.

Keep the knowledge of the Holy One before you at all times.

Understand a thing before you pursue it.

Don't be in a hurry and make an unwise decision.

Seeking the way,

Gloria