Day 11 – Hebrews 12:7-11

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.^[1]

There probably is not a person alive who having been disciplined by their parents thought it was good or necessary. I can remember having to wait for my father to get home from work and the lecture that was coming. I can remember how my mother was ready to back up her warnings with action without the least hesitation. At the time it was reprehensible to us and yet, looking back on it I am grateful because it prevented me from experiencing a lot of consequences of poor decisions.

To be sure, every child receives and perceives discipline differently. There are five of us and each of us is very different. Each of us has our own stories of how the discipline affected us. As children, teens, and then young adults we made our share of bad decisions in spite of the discipline. But we all share the fact that looking back on it we understand it, celebrate it, and in some instances wish we had adhered better to it. Was all the discipline we received best for us? My parents would tell you ‘no,’ but it was the best they knew at the time. That is exactly what the writer tells us here. We are frail human beings. We make bad mistakes, poor choices, and give bad advice. We are sinners. But look at the alternative. We are reaping the whirlwind of more than a generation of children, now adults, who have not been sufficiently disciplined.

I am not an advocate of abusive parenting of any kind, but neither am I a fan of this modern family that treats children as equals. We have a responsibility to discipline our children as God disciplines us, for their good so they can share in His holiness. If we have been derelict in our duty as parents, now is the time to repent. If we were abused as children now is the time to break the cycle for our own good and that of our children. It is time to end the madness. It is time to return to healthy, wholesome parental discipline.

Dear Father, thank You for parents who took their role of parenting seriously. Thank You for using their discipline to make me the man that I am today. Thank you for teaching me how You love me through their love for me. Thank You for showing me how to love and care for my children. Help all parents today to know how best to best discipline their children for their good and for Your glory. Give them wisdom, insight and understanding. Take away their fear of losing their children’s love and allow them to do what is best for their children, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.