Discipline Can Be A Good Fortune Teller
The Book of Proverbs
Proverbs Chapter 29
Scripture= Proverbs chapter 29:17 (The Message)
Discipline your children; you'll be glad you did— they'll turn out delightful to live with.
Observations and Applications=
It is amazing how life changes. Sometimes the pace of the change can be staggering. Someone can in one day win the lottery and become a millionaire or in the stock market lose everything and become destitute!
There are other places in our lives where change takes place at a slower pace but the results can seem just as staggering to us. Think about how quickly our children grow up, move out of the house and begin their own lives. It seems like only yesterday that they were sitting on our laps or we were pushing them in a swing. Suddenly we are watching them graduate and then say, “I do” to a total stranger that will take them away and then they are gone! Now the whole process might have taken over twenty years but the time just seemed to fly by and the finality of this change can be staggering.
One of the lessons that God has been teaching me throughout the lives of my children is to enjoy every season of their lives; to savor every moment. I have learned not to live in the “I wish you were still…” phase. Instead, I have tried to get to know each of my children all over again in each phase that they are going through. It is incredible to see them mature and grow into mature adults. I think it is so sad when parents say to their children, “what happened to the little boy/girl that I used to know. You used to be… but now you are…” As my oldest daughter is preparing to marry and live in the house of another man I am excited to watch her become a wife and a mom. I am looking forward to experiencing adulthood with her. I enjoy being around her now as much as I did when I held her for the first time.
Solomon tells us that when we discipline our children we are helping them. We are molding and shaping their lives. We are preparing them for adulthood. When we instill values into their lives and hold them accountable for their actions we are giving them the opportunity to grow up as responsible and mature adults. They can become grownups that are pleasant to be around. Solomon is telling us that our children can bring even more joy to us when we watch them become loving and caring parents who have learned the value of loving and disciplining their own children. It is so sad when grandparents cannot stand to be around their children and grandchildren because of a lack of discipline.
Prayer= Lord, I need your strength to raise my children in a manner that is pleasing to you and will be a blessing to them. Help me to seek your face and in humility resist the temptation to seek acceptance over discipline. Help me fashion in them the values necessary for my children to live lives that will give glory to you.
