Thursday, December 3, 2020

Seeing Better

 

Thursday, December 3, 2020

“Come, let us return to the Lord.  He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us.  He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.  In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence.  Oh, that we might know the Lord!  Let us press on to know him.  He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”  “O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord.  “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.  I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light.  I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.  I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.  Hosea 6:1-6

Israel and Judah, God’s petulant, unruly children had enough “spankings” to remind them of what is right, and what is wrong.  They learned the hard way, that there is a vast gulf between saying you will behave and living what you have said.  Through the prophet God reminds them of their promises vanishing like morning dew. 

What is often missed by those who see God as either a fairy tale or, if real, just too rigidly unfair and mean, is the motive of God’s judgments.  That motive is always loving, designed to bring the child back into the fold, not just dole-out bruises.  There is a reason we are taught to address God as Father; it is the image of one who created us in His own image, and stays involved with us to see us through the dangerous reality of growing up  in a world that can be harsh and unfriendly.

On the other side of discipline is memory.  Children remember the discipline they receive.  While there are many moving parts to discipline, the concept of correcting a child is so vital to parenting it cannot be ignored.  Any child who lives without parental discipline is left to the mercy of chance and this world’s unpredictability.  In short, left without the safety boundaries which discipline provides is to be left without love.  And an unloved child grows into an unloving adult, often obnoxious and angry.

 For a parent, the tricky part of discipline is learning to act in love, not anger.  Children can be frustrating, and there aren’t many parents who haven’t lost it over their kid’s behavior.  Controlling one’s own spirit and actions is foremost in teaching a child to master his or her own demons.

The whole point of discipline is to help a child see a better way.  If a child has made an error in behavior, the parent’s job is to show their child that better way.  Spanking, or corporal punishment, a practice used throughout most of recorded history, was a means of getting enough of the child’s attention to focus on the fact she or he had acted inappropriately.  The problem with that form of discipline is that it’s too easy for a frustrated parent to default to working-out the parent’s anger than taking the time to teach.  Rule number 1 is always:  Settle your own anger before disciplining your child!  If you don’t, the only thing you’ll help them see is the opposite of loving discipline; you’ll teach them how to be a bully. 

For You Today

Parenting is not a part-time job; it is a full-on, passionate, human-loving, frustration-overcoming quest for the good of that gift placed in your care.  Anyone blessed with the challenge of raising a child should remember to start every day on their knees in prayer, asking God to help with that day’s navigation as they teach their children to see better.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title image, Pixabay.com and    W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For other posts on Hosea 6 see:  Latte Salute; Scottie Salute; Sermon Salute and Broken Covenant  





 

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