Nobody likes to get in trouble and be disciplined for it, but if things are not going your way right now it’s possible that you’re experiencing the consequences of some poor choices you’ve made in the past. The discipline you’re experiencing could be coming from a parent, a friend, a teacher, or even the Lord himself, but rather than grumble against the person who is trying to help you or curse your own fate, instead recognize that you are being taught a valuable lesson, one that can give you some much needed wisdom and end up making your life better.
King Solomon wrote about the transformative power of discipline numerous times throughout Proverbs. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
Prov 3:11-12 – “Do not despise the Lord’s discipline…because the Lord discipline those he loves as a father does for the son he delights in.”
Prov 12:1 – “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is a fool.”
Prov 15:32 – “He who ignores discipline despises only himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.”
Prov 17:10 – “A rebuke makes an impression on a man of discernment, more than a 100 lashes do on the back of a fool.”
These are just a few tips from Solomon but I think you get the picture. Understand that if the person disciplining you didn’t love you they wouldn’t care enough to teach you anything – in that case you might end up continuing to make bad choices and go down a path to destructive life, but because the person disciplining you does love you, they’re trying to help you to lead a better life in the long run. The key to using discipline to your advantage is that you have pay attention to the lesson you are being taught so you can break the cycle of whatever bad decisions are causing all your problems. If you accept the discipline you are being taught, it will keep you from making the same poor choices in the future and instead put you on a NEW path, one in which your wise choices will lead to POSITIVE consequences (and who doesn’t love positive consequences?!?).
So you see, it’s really a case of the old cliche – you can learn your lesson the easy way or you can learn it the hard way. Which are you going to choose?
DON’T WAIT, USE THIS WISDOM RIGHT NOW…
To get the most out of today’s wisdom, ask yourself some questions:
- Am I being disciplined right now?
- What can I learn from this discipline to stop suffering now?
- What can I learn from this lesson to make my life better going forward?
- How can I thank the person who is trying to help me?
- How can I use this lesson to help someone else?