The Discipline of the Lord and A Good Life: The Connection
“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” Proverbs 22: 15.
One doesn’t need to be a child to have the heart of a child. Someone with the heart of a child in this sense is immature. And an immature person can be 30 or 60 or 90. To read the rest of this passage in Proverbs, click here.
The Rod of Discipline
Someone with the heart of a child will frequently experience the “rod of discipline” in life in various ways. But it is this rod that will drive the folly or immaturity out of him, so he no longer needs to experience it.
Here’s the progression: Folly or Immaturity > Rod of discipline> Deliverance from Folly> Deliverance from the Rod
The person who gets this folly or immaturity driven out while still a child is blessed. They can go on to live a happy, healthy, productive life as an adult.
The Gift of Discipline of the Lord
Parents who faithfully discipline their children are doing them an immense favor. Children who are not disciplined as children and remain immature into adulthood will find that life is constantly afflicting them with the rod of discipline.
And this, of course, makes for a less than satisfying life. An immature person’s folly will continually discipline him. The consequences of our folly are intended and designed to deliver us from that folly. So, we can be blessed.
Now, of course, the rod of discipline has the potential to deliver us from folly, but it’s not automatic. We must yield to it.
This brings up another advantage of being disciplined as children. If a child has a good parent, he doesn’t have much of a choice. A good parent will continue to discipline until the child yields.
But an adult can continue to be stiff-necked and hard-hearted, and never learn the lesson, despite repeated blows with the rod.
Whom the Lord Loves He Disciplines
The Lord loves us and wants us to have a good life. That’s why He disciplines us. So, we can be delivered of our folly and immaturity.
He can’t just give us what we want without delivering us of our folly any more than a parent can bless a wayward child. They may want to more than anything, but that would encourage the child in their waywardness. And hinder their growth.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives”Hebrew 12: 6
To read another post similar to The Discipline of the Lord and a Good Life: The Connection, see In the Wilderness: When God Doesn’t Keep His End of the Bargain.