God’s Children, December 4

God's Children, December 4

He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from hell.

Proverbs 13:24, 22:6, 15, 23:13-14, www.solascriptura.com

Father, as parents, we instinctively want to correct our children when they make errors and we want to praise them when they do well. Help us select the proper approach to discipline, considering the age, circumstances and the emotional make-up of the child or young person.

We know, Father, that as adults, we experience "correction" from You and that our hearts either convict us or excuse us as we move through the day.

Help us, today, to help our children and young people to look to You and Your Spirit in them as yardsticks for judging their behavior, just as Your Spirit in us teaches us to know right from wrong.

Help us never punish a child in anger, but if correction is needed, help us select the intervention that fits the circumstance and help us to have shown our love, many times over, before we ever show our disappointment

Bruce Caldwell