DISCIPLINE BRINGS HOPE

Prov. 19:18-19 – These two verses address two important issues – discipline and anger.
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death. (NIV)

Discipline is one of the hardest parts of parenting.  All of us want our children just to obey naturally, even willingly and quickly, but we forget that they have a sin nature, just like ours, that needs to be dealt with appropriately and honestly. This requires training of the heart.

“The scriptures command parents to raise children in the training and instruction of the Lord. We begin “training” a child from a very young age by the ways we respond to their actions and attitudes. The primary purpose of discipline is to consistently direct your child toward right relationships with God and others.”  https://www.myfamilyseason.com/Discipline-With-Young-Children

The Bible Hub website points out that, “In the Old Testament, “The Law enjoined the parents who had an incorrigibly bad son to bring him before the judge or the eiders, who alone had the power of life and death, and might in certain cases order the offender to be stoned (Deuteronomy 21:18, etc.) (Bible Hub).”   Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children obey your parents in the Lord for this right. ‘Honor your father and your mother’- which is the first commandment with a promise-‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” NIV

Discipling and training our children is demonstrating love to them and giving them hope.
We have lots of great resources on parenting on our faith@home web page to give you direction on the seasons of parenting we are in.  https://faithbible.com/faithathome

And concerning the issue of anger, the Proverb says,
 19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;  rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

Let’s relate this to parenting.  Did you ever get behind an angry child in line at Walmart - one who is obviously not getting his own way and causing a big scene? Not your own, of course, but I think we’ve all seen it or experienced a hot-headed person or child. There is always a penalty for hot-tempered anger, and, as parents, part of training our own children is helping them work through things and having self- control even when things don’t turn out as expected. If we do not step in with discipline and correction, we raise kids who are without self-control or the wisdom to react differently in life's situations.

I like the way the Amplified Bible brings this to light.
“A man of great anger will bear the penalty [for his quick temper and lack of self-control]; For if you rescue him [and do not let him learn from the consequences of his action], you will only have to rescue him over and over again.”

An author on the “Proverb a Day” website describes Anger as... “Anger or outbursts of anger - are a dangerous thing. We need to bear the penalty of these things so that we see them for what they are - manifestations of our pride and desire to control everything in our lives. We need to see them as a reminder that we DO NOT CONTROL our own lives. Angry outbursts are a warning sign to us that we want the world around us to serve us at all times. This will NOT be the case - and unless we learn this - we will only have more of these times of "great anger" that will cost us dearly.”  

Oh, to learn humility and submission to God and His providence quickly and to listen to these proverbs which address the issues of discipline and anger. Those who don’t are in for a hard and dangerous life.