Psalm 118, Discipline

"The LORD has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death."

-Psalm 118:18

Discipline is not a popular idea in our culture. No one likes being disciplined, and as a parent, I was slightly surprised to learn from experience that it's no fun doing the discipline either. It's a necessary check to redirect, regroup, and reflect upon our behavior or decisions and who likes to be "re" anything? Our natural impulse is to do something, be done with it, then move on. We resist re-writing and revising our writing much as we do anything else. Yet, no one would contest that the revising is important--it's what makes the writing better. When we reread a passage, we inevitably understand it better and glean more from it. Discipline has these same elements---it makes you revisit decisions and behavior in light of new information or with the wisdom of an addition set of eyes.

The children and I are also reading Hebrews where the author also refers to the positive qualities of discipline:

"Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." -Hebrews 12:9-13

This passage is rich with points to ponder. Our earthly parenting is "as it seemed best"--so true! I wish our parenting was perfect, and we do the best we can in the moment, but honestly, it is full of our human emotionalism--fatigue, hasty judgments, imperfect solutions to the problem du jour. Our parenting never happens in a perfect vacuum--it's "real time" and even at its very best, its executed by imperfect parents.

It's also true that all discipline is painful in the moment. No pain no gain goes the slogan. In a funny way this seems to be true. Discipline demands a change, a cost of sorts. It is never "pleasant" at the time. The long term fruit is worthwhile though---who doesn't want "the peaceful fruit of righteousness" after the "training." Training is a good work here---we don't think of training as "bad"--perhaps it's more on the front end and discipline is more "after the fact." But the discipline is part of the training which is an important point. Perhaps if we thought of it as training we would not buck against the goads as much?

Most significantly, verse 13 indicates that the ultimate goal is healing. Discipline has the power to heal what is broken, or if we resist, we can make the injury a permanent disability.Our culture views one kind of discipline as very positive---SELF discipline. We are such a country of "rights"---I guess it's okay to discipline yourself, just not for others to discipline us, and certainly not God...We like "self-discipline" because it reeks of ultimate independence, freedom even from self!




I think we also value"self-discipline" because it connects us to OUR goals. If it can further our own desires, then it becomes more palatable:

Self-discipline also has that very popular "Eastern" vibe about it. Man masters self and all. It's an attractive notion, no doubt! Who doesn't wish to master self?

Of course, we can never truly master self--it goes back to the whole sin problem of course. It's the evil in us that we can't completely root out in this lifetime. To think that we can root it out completely is to live in denial of reality and set ourselves up as our own goal and God.

The Christian concept of discipline is a much humbler creature. It's about letting God wash our feet. It's allowing that His plans are greater and wiser than our own. It's about being humbled under the hand of God for HIS purposes and glory, which are ultimately the best for our life in the end.

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law to give him rest from days of trouble..." -Psalm 94:12-13