Is "discipline" a bad word?

My grandson Urijah is now a little over one year old. He has begun to pull himself up to things that he is interested in touching, twisting, or putting in his mouth. Of course there are some things in the house that his father and mother have determined should not be touched, twisted or put in his mouth. These are things that have been declared off limits for him, because they believe those things could either be harmful to himself or a harmful to the object. Exhibit A below.

Hmmmm, sound familiar? Even at the beginning of time, when God created man and woman, there were boundaries set by our heavenly Father, to help protect us from harm.Unfortunately, since that time, when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God the Father, every man and woman have had to make a choice between right and wrong, following selfish desires over choosing self-control.

Little Urijah has been told numerous times not to touch the items he is touching in Exhibit A above and Exhibit B below.
 

Urijah chose not to listen to his father and mother's instruction, because why? He just can't help himself. He is just one year old. He really doesn't know any better. He hasn't yet developed self-control. He is too young to understand. Really? (pause) Really?

Because it appears that Urijah thought no one was looking when he decided to do what he has been told not to do. See Exhibit C below. Note that he has paused to see that he was mistaken.Someone (Papa) was watching him all along and now little Urijah has stopped all body movement, not moving a muscle, and is now considering the pending results of his actions.

So at this point, I guess his mom and dad (who also have been watching without him knowing) should just let him continue to do it, right? After all, he is SOOOOOO CUTE. And, he hasn't destroyed anything, right? It's just some electronics that can be replaced, right? He is surely not going to die from doing what he is doing, right?

Hmmmm, sound familiar? What was the harm in eating a little fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? The woman "saw that it was pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom," Genesis 3:6. What's the big deal? It was just a piece of "pleasing to the eye" fruit, right? How could eating a little piece of fruit be such a big deal? I guess we know the answer to that question now.

There are reasons why there are boundaries, guidelines, instructions, training and discipline in life. These things are established to protect us and to shape our decision-making, so that when given choices in life, we have some kind of reference or guide to make the right choice over a wrong choice.And some times we need to obey, even when we don't understand the reasons why at the time.

Who is establishing that reference or guide for making decisions in Urijah's life right now? No doubt it is his parents. How important is that role in his life right now, even at age 1? It's extremely important. There are no two people better positioned in Urijah's life right now to set the boundaries, guidelines, instruction, training and discipline than his parents. It's the way God has always intended it to be and He began by His own example in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.He gave them instructions to follow. But He didn't just give them instructions to follow and then not have a response to not following them. What would be the purpose then? He loved them enough to discipline them, when they did not follow the instructions.

Urijah faces choices every day of his life, even at this young age. Eventually, he will be totally on his own, away from parental controls and making more choices.The years between now and then shape his future for the decisions he will make. Self discipline or lack of self discipline will determine his choices. Yes, he will make mistakes, but the question is, will he learn from those mistakes and turn and make better decisions in the future or will he continue to make mistakes over and over. How will he learn if he has made a mistake or not? Parents play a huge role in how that turns out. Yes, the child and eventual adult gets to choose. God gave us all free will as individual humans. But He, God, is the ultimate parent. His Word, the ultimate instruction book. He is the supreme role model for parents to follow. He has given us instructions to follow for a reason, just as you have given your children instructions for a reason, so that they will hopefully listen, learn and choose wisely.

Jeff wrote yesterday in his blog: "Kids do what their parents/adults do." We set the example. How would you rate your self-discipline in Christ? What kind of role model are you for your children? Are you following the boundaries, instruction, guidelines, training from our heavenly Father? How do you respond to His discipline? Yes, we adults make mistakes too. How are we teaching our children what we are learning from our own mistakes?

Hebrews 7-11
7 Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness. 11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.


Terry Langenberg
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