Discipline Begets Self-Discipline 10 Jan 2013
1 Kings 1:6 NIV
(His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)
(His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)
Adonijah had grown up in a life without limitations. He had always had his own way. David had never questioned his behavior, had never shown him any boundaries, had never given him any form of discipline. The result was the adult Adonijah, a man without self-discipline, a man who still wanted his own way.
Children need discipline - discipline administered with love. Once, when my oldest son was about 12, he disobeyed me - and then lied to me to try to cover for his disobedience. When I discovered what he had done, I explained to him that disobeying me was bad, but lying to me about it was worse. His punishment was to be grounded (staying in his room at all times except for school and church) for two days for disobeying me and another seven days for lying to me. We suffered through his grounding together (it's sometimes harder on the parents than the child!), but I pretty much forgot about the ncident in years to come. But my son did not forget. I later learned that he had not forgotten when I overheard a conversation he was having with one of his friends when he was about 16. The friend was angry at some punishment his own mother had administered. My son related the punishment he had received four years earlier, in an apparent attempt to show his friend that the friend's punishment was minor compared to that! Upon hearing the story, my son's friend became adamant, stating that if his mother had done that to him, he would have run away from home. My son's answer to his friend's outcry showed me that he understood the reason for discipline when he said, "But Mom only punished me because she loves me!"
Show your children how much you love them by giving them boundaries - emotional, behavioral and spiritual - within which to live. Teach them self-discipline through your loving discipline. Allow them the opportunity to grow up to be adults of whom you - and God - can be proud.
My son, keep your father's commands
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
Bind them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,
Proverbs 6:20-23 NIV
"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Proverbs 13:24 NIV
Children need discipline - discipline administered with love. Once, when my oldest son was about 12, he disobeyed me - and then lied to me to try to cover for his disobedience. When I discovered what he had done, I explained to him that disobeying me was bad, but lying to me about it was worse. His punishment was to be grounded (staying in his room at all times except for school and church) for two days for disobeying me and another seven days for lying to me. We suffered through his grounding together (it's sometimes harder on the parents than the child!), but I pretty much forgot about the ncident in years to come. But my son did not forget. I later learned that he had not forgotten when I overheard a conversation he was having with one of his friends when he was about 16. The friend was angry at some punishment his own mother had administered. My son related the punishment he had received four years earlier, in an apparent attempt to show his friend that the friend's punishment was minor compared to that! Upon hearing the story, my son's friend became adamant, stating that if his mother had done that to him, he would have run away from home. My son's answer to his friend's outcry showed me that he understood the reason for discipline when he said, "But Mom only punished me because she loves me!"
Show your children how much you love them by giving them boundaries - emotional, behavioral and spiritual - within which to live. Teach them self-discipline through your loving discipline. Allow them the opportunity to grow up to be adults of whom you - and God - can be proud.
My son, keep your father's commands
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
Bind them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,
Proverbs 6:20-23 NIV
"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Proverbs 13:24 NIV
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