Proverbs to Live By—Practice Discipline

“Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him”. –Proverbs 13:24.  “A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.” –Proverbs 15:5.”The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.” –Proverbs 15:31.  “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” –Proverbs 16:3.  “Even  a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” –Proverbs 20:11.  “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” –Proverbs 22:6 (ESV).

I selected six pertinent verses from Proverbs on the subject of discipline.  The word translated discipline or correction is use thirty-one times in Proverbs.  That shows the weight it bears in the way life is conducted.  We think primarily of the obligation of parents to discipline their children.  And this is a God-given privilege as well as a grave responsibility in the family unit.  Children learn discipline and eventually become self-disciplined by learning that there are restrictions to be followed and parameters set.  And self-discipline is a life-long process.  We need discipline every day, that which we’ve learned ourselves either by our upbringing, or from what we may call “the hard knocks” of life brought about by wrong choices.

Proverbs 13:24 indicates that discipline by physical punishment (the rod) is acceptable.  More modern trends in child rearing question the wisdom of physical punishment.  Notice the last part of 13:24:  “he who loves him (the child) is diligent (steadfast, consistent) to discipline him.”  The Message Bible translates this verse:  “A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them.”  Bible scholars note that 13:24 stems from an old Egyptian proverb that reads, “The ears of the young are placed on the back, and he hears when the back is flogged.”  We may smile at this ancient justification for using the rod in discipline.  Parenting is a privilege but it is also a grave responsibility.  We have the present and future of the children entrusted specifically to our care to bring up into responsible maturity.  Discipline begins young and it comes with a remarkable promise:  “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” We know that children brought up with good discipline can and do stray from it.  So then, what of this promise?  We hear often about “cutting the apron strings,” and we must come to a point when we allow children to assume responsibility for their own decisions and actions.  But when parents combine discipline with example of living an upright life before their children, and continue to surround the children with prayer and love—even when they are “on their own,”  the promise of Proverbs 22:6 can come to fruition.  This principle is a vital part of Proverbs 16:3: “Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established.”  This applies to all phases of our work, and holds much weight in the work of being parents and bringing up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Do we want to enjoy our children all of our lives, and even our children to the second and third generation as we become grandparents and great grandparents?  Then we should begin very early in the child’s life to correct and discipline, and be persistent and consistent in the training.  Discipline has to do with correcting behavior and character faults while the child is still young, before wrong conduct has time to be established.  Children cannot be “left to themselves.”  They need guidance of a positive and upbuilding nature.  Proverbs 29:17 states:  “Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul” (NKJV) 

Thank God that you personally were disciplined.  In your responsibilities for disciplining yourself and others, pray for wisdom and understanding necessary to practicing responsible discipline.

Walk in Integrity

" Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’” –I Kings 9:4-5 .”Let me be weighed in a just balance, That God may know my integrity.”-Job 31:6. “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.” -Psalm 25:21. “Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.”-Psalm 26:1, 11. “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.”-Proverbs 20:7 (all references NKJV).

The Hebrew word muna translated integrity has sixteen references in the Old Testament. The word is not given in Greek in the New Testament but when faithfulness is used that means integrity. The word means faithfulness, trustworthiness, steadfastness, uprightness and honesty. It is sometimes pictured as a straight path along which one should walk, veering not to the right or to the left. We find the term integrity used in Genesis 20:5-6 of Abimelech, King of Grerar, to whom Abraham gave Sarah, claiming she was his sister. But in a dream Abimelech learned the truth of Sarah’s relationship to Abraham and he restored her to her husband without taking her into his harem. God commended the king for his integrity. Following the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon, the Lord appeared to Solomon to make a covenant with him. If Solomon would walk in integrity and keep God’s commandments, statutes and judgments, the throne would be established in the line of David as God had promised. God commended Job’s integrity. Job’s wife asked him if he would hold on to his integrity, even after he had lost everything. In defending himself against his friends who thought Job’s dilemma had been brought on by disobedience to God, Job defended himself, affirming that he, indeed, was a man of integrity. In the Psalms and in Proverbs, the righteous is seen as walking in integrity. To walk in integrity is the right path for the Christian. There should be no question of “Should I walk uprightly?” The conclusion each Christian should reach is “I will walk in integrity.”

Corrie ten Boom led a life of immense integrity. Born in Holland on April 15. 1892 to Casper and Cor ten Boom, Corrie ten Boom was destined to save the lives of some 800 Jews during World War II. The ten Boom family members were Christians. Her father, who had inherited his father’s watchmaking shop in Haarlem provided in a secretly-built “Hiding Place” in the family’s living quarters above his watch shop a place of concealment for Jews escaping from the Germans. Corrie (who had become the first certified woman watchmaker in Holland) and her family were faithful in this dangerous mission. On February 28, 1944, her father, her sister Betsie and Corrie were arrested. Her father died soon in a hospital and was given a pauper’s burial. Betsie and Corrie were sent on to Ravensbruck Prison in Germany where they had to toil hard and live in terrible vermin-infested conditions with little food. They got a group together after roll call nearly every night and studied the Bible and prayed together. Betsie died in prison. Through a clerical error, Corrie ten Boom was released on Christmas Day, 1944, went on a train to Berlin, and miraculously got back to her home in Holland. She began a rehabilitation home for released prisoners and helped homeless children. In 1946, she came to the United States, speaking in many churches, extending her ministry through 60 countries. She wrote several books, the most famous of which was The Hiding Place. In 1978 due to poor health she gave up traveling and speaking. She lived in California where she died on her birthday in 1983. The Jews held that dying on one’s birthday showed God’s favor and a life lived in integrity. One of her favorite sayings was, “God does not have problems, only plans.” Her life constantly followed the paths of integrity and she became an inspiration for all who heard her speak and read her books.

Practice Sobriety—in Body and Mind

“Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” –Proverbs 20:1 (NKJV). “The glory of young men is their strength, And the glory of old men is their gray head.” -Proverbs 20:29 (NKJV). “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking with one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” –Ephesians 5:15-21 (NKJV)

“Sobriety is characterized by self-control, seriousness, and sound moral judgment…To be sober is to be in one’s right mind” (Holman Bible Dictionary, 2001, p. 1288). I looked up some statistics on alcoholism and found that in America today about 17.6 million people are addicted to the ravages of strong drink. A long time ago the writer of Proverbs recognized and wrote about the evil effects of alcohol: “Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” In that same chapter of Proverbs, a young man was commended for his strength, and the elderly held in honor for their “gray hair.” But the ravages of strong drink negate these qualities. The road to alcoholism begins with a first drink. Maybe it is on a dare, because friends are drinking. Perhaps the first taste of alcohol (or drugs) leads at first to a feeling of euphoria, and the user wants to repeat the sensation, which leads to habitual use. Little do they recognize the hold that alcohol (and, yes, addictive drugs as well) takes on the mind. A little research on alcohol use and health reveals multiple ills that occur because of repeated alcohol use. Among the first is the addiction itself—a feeling of need that is brought on by the lack of the stimulant. Physically, continued use can lead to diseases of the body such as arthritis, heart disease, hyper- and hypoglycemia, kidney and liver diseases, malnutrition and disorders of the nervous system. Psychologically, continued alcohol use leads to depression, insomnia and anxiety. Alarmingly, alcohol destroys brain cells. Who among us does not need all the brain cells we possess? Brain lesions, in turn, affect cognition, bring on hallucinations and delusions. And, if alcohol is used by women, especially before and during pregnancy, it causes fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a condition affecting the unborn which can be a life-long plague to an innocent child. Often, unfortunately, alcoholism is in a family’s history; the tendency toward it genetically transferred. In addition to the terrible addiction, it can bring suffering because of financial difficulties—money spent on a bad habit that could well be spent on support of family and needful charitable causes. Is it any wonder then that the writer of Proverbs stated “Wine is a mocker”?

Paul in his day recognized that wine could become a problem for Christians to whom he wrote. He encouraged them to refrain from strong drink “inwhich is dissipation.” The alternative is to be “filled with the Spirit.” Where the Spirit of the Lord dwells, there is no room for the “dissipation” and evils of alcohol and drugs. I do not want to come through as a “goody-two-shoes,” but for me, the decision to abstain from strong drink was made early in my life. I had opportunity to see what strong drink could do in that some persons in our larger family group (uncles) were addicted to alcohol. Observing the misery, shame and deprivation, as well as their own dissipation, were enough to steer me away from that first drink which I feared might start me down a dark road of no-return. The fact that I became a Christian early in life also was my stronghold and bulwark against wrong choices, as to drink. I wanted sincerely to do what was pleasing to the Lord. Sobriety in body and mind is possible. First, a right choice, to say “no” to strong drink and drugs, and mean it; and then to hold to a continuing desire to follow the path of the Lord, for it is right and good. Prayer: God grant that we be sober—in body and in mind.