How many times, as a child, did you hear those words from your parents, just before a spanking, “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you?” I didn’t believe it either! When I became a parent and had to discipline my kids, I found out that it was true. That, of course, was back in the days when it was “okay” to spank your kids and the world didn’t think you were scarring your children for life by actually teaching them consequences for their bad behavior.
Appropriate discipline keeps us from straying off the path that we are supposed to be on and follow the standards of behavior we have been taught. As parents, we discipline our children because we love them. We want them to learn right from wrong so that they don’t harm themselves through inappropriate behavior or actions. As a child learns the difference between right and wrong or good and bad, then he or she chooses obedience or disobedience and either enjoys the love and acceptance of the parents or receives the consequences of the parents’ disciplinary actions.
It’s the same way with God. He disciplines us because he loves us. He teaches us, through his Word, the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, purity and sin, etc. We either choose to obey him or walk in disobedience. We will reap the benefits of obedience or suffer the consequences of disobedience. I would much prefer to walk in obedience to God, but the sad reality is that I often disobey him. I get “spanked” by God, receive his discipline, and ask for his forgiveness. He always loves me, always forgives me, and wraps me in his loving arms.
Hebrews 12:6-7 (NLT) - “For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?”