Devotion Journal

A Word To Fathers on Discipline

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:11

There is a purpose behind the discipline of our children. That purpose is not to be a release for our anger or to get even. Webster defines discipline as, “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.” Discipline then should be to the benefit to the child for the future. In the book of Hebrews the author is writing about the Lord’s discipline towards us. It stood out to me that God’s purpose behind discipline is to, “yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” I have two small children. My kids are a huge blessing and bring such life into our home. Yet if you have small chilren you know that the can also be a challenge. When your child continues to do something you have asked them not to do how do you respond? Is the child benefiting from how I handle the situation.

It’s easy to get angry and say things we wish we never had. Yet our children do not benifit from our anger. I don’t think a child would benefit from yelling and screaming and just sending them to the room. The scripture teaches us to be slow to anger. When the Lord passed before Moses He proclaimed, “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering (slow to anger), and abundant in goodness and truth…” (Exodus 34:6)

As a father you and I are preparing our children for the future. We have the job of training and teaching our children. Part of that preparation is discipline. Your children are going to do things that require discipline. Yet remember this is not something to gratify your anger. You need to put aside your anger for the benefit of the child. I think of how the Lord has dealt with me over the years. Yes I’ve done things I’m not happy about and there has been consequences. The correction hasn’t been fun yet it does yield peaceful fruit. The Lord has not responded to me in anger and He has been very merciful and gracious towards me.

So remember when correcting your child there is a bigger purpose than the thing which you are dealing with. May we seek the Lord on how to correctly discipline our children. May we ask the Lord to change us so that we may know how to respond in those moments of correcting our children. He is our Father and will teach us how to be a father to our children.