EMBRACE DISCIPLINE

Discipline is not always thought of positively, nor is it received as a beneficial concept in most cases. We typically know discipline only as a punishment we receive for wrong behavior or actions, and it is meant to correct those actions by helping us adhere to the rules. 

Now, our heavenly Father does punish when it is needed, and He will correct His children to direct us on His path. We should receive His correction with an open heart and mind, knowing that when we are His, the goal is to keep us in line with His plans for our lives and our eternal protection.

But what if we could have the biblical understanding that God’s discipline is actually a preventative measure and plan for us, that can keep us from facing the discipline that is for punishment.

When we note that the Greek word for discipline used in many areas of the New Testament is Paideia, it is not referring to the punishment type of discipline that would be the result of wrongdoing on our part. Knowing that it directs us to understand discipline as how one would raise up, train up, and educate a child to follow the pattern and ways of the parent can completely change our understanding and reception of God’s discipline.

He wants us to be trained up, educated, and built up in His ways. Knowing His love, His ways, and His expectations for our lives can keep us from living for ourselves, which can lead to trouble and disobedience to God. When we are “disciplined” to live as God is teaching us, we can have a fulfilled life serving and obeying our heavenly Father, which will protect us from facing discipline as punishment for our choices.