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Pastor Beal

THE WISDOM OF DISCIPLINE

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left
to himself bringeth his mother to shame. " Prov. 29:15

There is no greater responsibility than that of a parent. Children are a precious gift from God, and they require great wisdom to mold and shape their precious lives. I want to say first and foremost, that discipline must always be done in love and control. When you let emotions and anger become the motivation, instead of right and wrong, it becomes personal instead of positional. Prov. 29:17, "Correct thy son, and he shall give thee REST yea, he shall give DELIGHT unto thy soul." Proper discipline will bring desirable fruit, rest, and delight, not shame. I must be getting old, because I went to school when they believed in "reading, writing, and arithmetic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick." Discipline was a very real and practiced art in our home. My parents were not perfect, and didn't always discipline us perfectly; but I knew that they loved and cared for us enough to do their best. For example: If you put a poodle in a fenced-in yard, and a pitbull strolls down your alley, he will bark and carry on like there's no tomorrow. If you did not know better, he could convince you that if turned loose, he could handle the situation. Yet, how cruel it would be to turn him loose. It wouldn't be long until he would look at you with sad and bewildered eyes that would say, "WHY did you do that?" It was the security of the fences that provided a quality life. Yes, children will push and tug to get into situations, but they trust you to know why they're barking and to keep them safe.

Thanks and God bless! Pastor Earl Beal