Proverbs 5:23 “He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.”
IT’S NOT A BAD WORD
In our permissive society today discipline is looked upon as bad or unnecessary. Our verse for today reminds me of Hebrews 12:11 “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.” Without discipline, Solomon says we die and are led astray.
Discipline is really conditioning. It’s conditioning our spirits to obey a holy God. It’s conditioning our minds to dwell on His Word. It’s conditioning our mouths to speak truth. It’s conditioning our ears to not listen to gossip. It’s conditioning our eyes to look on godly things.
TEACHING MOMENT
If you ask your little Gertrude or Elrod what discipline is, they would probably say a “whooping.” Children equate discipline with pain unless we teach them otherwise. Discipline may not be pleasant, as the writer of Hebrews says, but it does not have to be painful.
In fact, when we learn to discipline ourselves, the pain subsides quickly. When we learn to practice self-discipline we don’t have problems with authority. When our children learn that discipline is a good thing, parenting becomes so much easier.
How about you? Are you disciplined or self-disciplined? Do you require God to take you to the woodshed or do you deny yourself those things that you KNOW will lead you astray? Discipline yourself. Listen to the Spirit. He will always point you correctly.
