Pondering Proverbs - Discipline (10)

 

“A fool rejects [despises] his father’s discipline, but he who regards reproof is sensible.” Proverbs 15:5.

 

Proverbs Chapter 15 gives us five verses (5, 10, 12, 31, 32) that directly speak of discipline, and a concluding verse that informs them all. While at first glance the book of Proverbs may seem like a random compilation of sayings (especially chapters 10 – 29), there are in fact patterns and clusters of associated subject matter that speak to us as we immerse ourselves in the book. This is like visiting a favorite park or walking a favorite trail over and over again, each walk and each visit can reveal something new, something we hadn’t noticed before. 

When visiting national parks, such as Yellowstone, guidebooks are quite helpful, but they are no substitute (nor are they meant to be) for actually experiencing the wonders of the park – wonders which continue to speak and delight even years after one’s visit. In fact, a good guidebook entices and prepares one for a visit and can help during the visit – they are meant to first get us to the park and then help us experience the park – they are not meant as a substitute for the experience.

 

There are wonders in Proverbs for us to experience, dimensions of relationship with our Father and Lord Jesus; individual verses in Proverbs can speak to us, just as a musical instrument can speak to us, but let us not be content to just hear one instrument when there is an orchestra playing symphonies composed by the Holy Spirit.

 

“A fool rejects his father’s discipline…” There is a lot about fools in Proverbs (see for example 26:1 – 11), and here we have another characteristic of a fool, he rejects his father’s discipline.

 

What about those of us who have not had fathers who cared enough to wisely discipline us? What about those of us who had fathers who ignored us, were harsh with us, or who otherwise were anything but wise and loving to us? What about those of us whose fathers abandoned them, or who never knew their fathers? There can be a lot of pain in the human experience and even when the pain is healed…if it is ever healed…we have scar tissue…I’m not sure that the scar tissue ever goes away, maybe with some folks it does, but I’m not sure about that.

 

Thankfully we have our heavenly Father, who loves us and cares for us and who desires to draw us ever closer to Himself – in Christ we are His sons and daughters and His Spirit lives within us, so that we cry out, “Abba! Daddy! Papa! Father!” (Romans 8:14 – 17; Galatians 4:6). Our heavenly Father is not a distant parent, He is concerned about every facet of our lives and He knows every fiber of our being (Psalm 139). So much of Jesus’ teaching was to reveal to us the love and care of our Father and how valuable we are to Him, to reassure us of the love of God, that we can trust our heavenly Father without reservation. (Matthew 6:25 – 34; 7:7 – 11).

 

We also have the Family of God, the Church, the Body of Christ, and within this community we can seek out godly men and women to be our fathers and mothers in the faith. Furthermore, as we mature in Christ, we can also learn to be older brothers and fathers (and older sisters and mothers) to younger people. And may I say that we are never too old for meaningful relationships...never.

 

It is foolishness the way some churches and para-church ministries segregate generations, for sure there are times it is valuable to be around folks of our own generation, but to have that as our default social structure is unnatural and is, I think, peculiar to our North American culture. The Body of Christ ought not to be dismembered, we have so much to share with one another across generational lines – indeed, across all lines – after all, we are to be one in Christ, members of one another.

 

There are grandparents who need grandchildren, and grandchildren who need grandparents, and younger men who need older men and older men who need younger men, and mothers who need daughters and daughters who need mothers. There are also younger couples who need older couples and older couples who need younger couples.

 

Within the Body of Christ there are those younger men who despise the instruction and discipline of fathers, but there are those who are sensible and listen to what older men have to say. This is to say that we can take what the Bible teaches us about family relationships and incorporate it into the koinonia of the Church – this is the way it ought to be in our congregations, but of course it is rare, relationships are rare…we may have lots of programs, but we tend to have few heartfelt relationships in the fabric of our lives.

 

It takes work to be a father, or a son, or a mother, or a daughter – whether in a natural family or in God’s family – easier to sit in a pew or in a class and then call it a day and come back next week. Easier to answer a few questions in a study guide than invest ourselves in one another. It is easier to call one another sister or brother than to be a brother or sister.

 

Do we love one another enough to acknowledge that we are not always going to get it right, but we still want to keep trying? Our instruction and discipline are not always going to hit the mark, the center of the bullseye – sometimes they may miss the entire target. The way we receive correction and instruction may not always be the best, but will we trust Christ and others so that we will come back and try it again, work at it some more?

 

As Proverbs 14:4 points out, “Where no oxen are, the stall is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox.” If we are going to be fruitful in our relationships we will always have some mess to clean up – better that we acknowledge this up front and then help one another with the clean-up. Give me a congregation with squeaky clean stalls and I’ll give you a congregation with no meaningful relationships.

 

We should no more be scandalized by a mess in relationships than a farmer should be scandalized by poop in a stall – such is life…let us trust Christ to help us work through these things in His mercy and grace and forbearance…and with a smile and humor! We can grow a lot with the right fertilizer!

Pondering Proverbs - Discipline (9)

  

“He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Proverbs 13:24.

 

Proverbs Chapter 13 begins with discipline in the father – son relationship and its penultimate verse returns to the image. Whereas 13:1 focuses on the son, 13:24 draws our attention to the father.

 

Let’s begin with an observation about the “rod” in this verse, while I am not going to explore corporeal punishment, I want to point out that the image of the “rod” is an image of discipline and instruction – that is, a rod is more than a physical rod, a rod is an image of discipline and instruction. Godly paternal discipline and instruction is given in the context of relationship and love and care, its purpose is the betterment and growth and well-being and protection of the child or young person; it is directed toward the whole daughter or son – spirit, soul, heart, mind, and body.

 

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Then in Colossians 3:21, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”

 

This doesn’t mean that children or young people will never get angry and that if they get angry the parent has somehow failed to employ godly discipline, but there is a kind of discipline that is more a test of wills and sheer power than it is of teaching and love, a kind of discipline that is more retributive than anything else, and my sense is that this kind of behavior is more destructive and alienating than anything else – this is what drives children and young people to the kind of anger and exasperation that Paul is, possibly, referring to. The nature of this “discipline” can break the child or young person, rather than mold character and foster growth and relationship.

 

Perhaps you have seen this behavior in families, or in schools or places of work. Perhaps you have either been the recipient of this type of behavior or, sadly, perhaps you have been the source of the behavior. The Good News is that we can ask our dear heavenly Father to teach us all and to redeem both our pain and our foolishness and stupidity. I have been a dumb ass with respect to these things more than once, and if there is hope for me then there is great hope for you.

 

Proverbs 13:24 gives us two images, the father who hates his son and the father who loves his son – the distinguishing and identifiable feature in each image is discipline, either its lack or its presence.

 

Godly discipline requires thought, time, prayer, self-examination, and a willingness to maintain Biblical standards and teaching in the face of a hostile world that is intent on capturing the souls of our children and young people…and which is by and large succeeding. If we are to instruct and discipline others, our own souls must be subject to the discipline of our heavenly Father, the Scriptures, and the Body of Christ – for we are members of one another.

 

In the workplace, I lived in a deep awareness that if I was going to instruct and teach and discipline my employees that I really needed to live under the authority and discipline of Jesus Christ – otherwise my behavior and thinking would be capricious and arbitrary and I would be more interested in taking the easy way out rather than investing myself in the welfare of others.

 

We cannot control how others respond to instruction and discipline, but by God’s grace we can submit ourselves to the authority and love and care of Jesus Christ as we discipline and teach others – to teach we must be taught, to correct we must be corrected, to discipline we must live lives under discipline, to exercise authority we must live under authority.

 

The physical rod, or its punitive equivalent, can be a substitute for parental engagement and instruction; the same can be said for a passive attitude toward parenting – in both cases the parent need not invest himself or herself in raising the child or young person.

 

I knew a parent who had her son cut their backyard grass with a pair of scissors to punish him – thankfully they lived in a townhouse. When she shared this with me she shared it with immense pride, as if she had shown him who was boss. Now I ask you, what do you think this foolishness accomplished?

 

On the other end of the spectrum, I recall a member of a small group talking about some soul – destroying behavior that his teenage daughter was involved in. When someone asked him if he has spoken to her about it he said, “I couldn’t do that, she wouldn’t like me.” Is not this another form of foolishness? (This man was a leader in the community, a business owner, a leader in his congregation – yet he couldn’t lead his family.)

 

If we view both of the above behaviors through Proverbs 13:24 what do we see? Forcing your son to cut the grass with scissors is no more godly discipline that doing nothing about your daughter’s soul – destroying behavior; neither is an example of loving your child.

 

This may be a good time to refresh ourselves with Hebrews 12:4 – 11, our heavenly Father disciplines us because He loves us, and children who are without discipline are treated as if they are illegitimate (I suppose this means that we treat most of our children in the U.S.A. as if they are indeed illegitimate, for we certainly don’t hold them accountable for their actions).

 

We are also reminded in Hebrews 12:11 that, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful…” This is not just true for the child; it is also true for the parent. How often do parents not teach and correct their children because they just don’t want the hassle or the discomfort?

 

How often do employers or supervisors or teachers not correct and teach those they are supposed to serve because they don’t want the discomfort, tension, or hassle?

 

I have had many corrective and teaching conversations with employees over the years, and I don’t think that I have been comfortable in any of them, but I have known that if I really cared about the people on my team that I needed to have the conversations. Sometimes the conversations went well, sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes they didn’t go well in the moment, but later they yielded amazing fruit; sometimes they resulted in an employee leaving the firm.

 

As a pastor I didn’t do as well, I know I avoided many discussions I should have had, and for sure some of my conversations were not as thoughtful as they should have been – well, as I wrote above, we can ask our Father to redeem our foolishness and look for His mercy.

 

How can we even begin to ponder these things without looking to our Lord Jesus for help and mercy and grace?

 

What do you see in Proverbs 13:24?

 

What can we learn about discipline from Proverbs 13:1, 10, 18, and 24? What is the story that we see here?

 

Pondering Proverbs – Discipline (8)

 

 

“Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored.” Proverbs 13:18.

 

The first thing we might think when we read the above is, “I know people who neglect and reject discipline all the time, and they not only have wealth, they also have the admiration of others.” This is true, but is it the Truth?

 

We could also say that we know people who regard reproof, but who are not honored. Again, this may be true, but is it the Truth?

 

Also, let’s keep in mind that in Proverbs 13:1 and 13:24 discipline is in the context of the father – child relationship, so I think we also want to put 13:18 in that context because verses 1 and 24 bracket the chapter.

 

It is the nature of life that some things are apparent and some things are hidden, some things play out quickly and some things not so quickly. Paul writes, “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.” (1 Tim. 5:24 – 25). Appearances really can be deceiving.

 

Let me tell you what tragedy looks like, a form that it takes. Tragedy is arriving at the end of life and not knowing what really matters, it is having lived your life with a false set of values, a warped vision. Tragedy is nearing death and still thinking that wealth and possessions and the recognition of this world matters, it is ignoring the portal that you are approaching as if it is of no consequence; this, my friends, is tragedy.

 

But there is yet another tragedy on top of this tragedy, and that tragedy is that you have lived in the foregoing way so long that you are not open to hearing the Truth, not open to seeing the Truth, not open to realizing the loving reproof that God still offers – the purpose of which is to draw you to Himself.

 

So now I ask you, dear reader, does it really matter who has the “most toys” at the end of life? Does it matter who has the big investment accounts, the many possessions, the mega houses, the accolades of this present age? What is the reality behind all these things? What is the reality behind a life lived outside of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection and the koinonia of His suffering? The reality is eternal poverty and shame.

 

Let us make no mistake, let us not fall for the propaganda of false “Christian” teachers; the followers of Jesus Christ may indeed experience poverty and shame in this life, just as our Lord Jesus did, but the honor that awaits us is beyond words and comprehension. In fact, we are called to bear the shame and reproach of our Lord Jesus (Heb. 13:13), but to bear His shame is our honor, to bear His shame and suffering is to also share His glory (Rom. 8:16 – 18; 1 Peter 4:12 – 14).

 

In the context of the father and child relationship, the child who neglects the discipline and instruction of a loving parent will know a relationship of poverty and shame – there will be “what might have been” and unrealized potential. On the other hand, when I have known parent and child relationships with loving discipline and instruction, I have witnessed beauty and richness and trust.  The richest people on earth are those who know Christ and have true and trusting relationships with family and friends.

 

Psalms 37 and 73 are helpful reminders to us that things are not always what they appear to be, and that our eyes are to be on Jesus and the true Truth. Note how the writer of Psalm 73 received God’s reproof, “When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant, I was like a beast before you” (73:21 – 22).

 

A life of tragedy is a life of not receiving the loving and merciful reproof and conviction of the Holy Spirit, it is a life of not knowing the care and discipline of the Father who gave His only begotten Son.

Pondering Proverbs – Discipline (7)

 

 

“Through insolence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel.” Proverbs 13:10.

 

The scoffer and the insolent are closely related, if not the same – rejecting discipline, instruction, and counsel; while those who receive counsel will gain wisdom, just as it is the wise son who accepts his father’s discipline.

 

Inherent in the scoffer and the insolent is rebellion, a disrespect for authority, and a proclivity to tear down rather than build up. An individual scoffer or insolent person is annoying, but when two or more form an association and become a snowball rolling down a hill, gaining mass and momentum – that is dangerous and often lethal to society.  When professing Christians join the snowball, we have tragedy in the church.

 

Insolence generates strife, it is a virus that affects all it touches, it upsets the equilibrium and center of gravity of families, communities, churches, workplaces, and nations. The insolent do not seek to resolve conflict, but to destroy, to tear down others while exalting themselves. The insolent are consumed by their insolence, just as scoffers are consumed by their scoffing; that is, insolence feeds on insolence, just as all sin feeds on sin; it must have more and more sin to maintain itself until finally it consumes itself – hurling itself into the abyss of darkness and death and of no return.

 

The fact that many Christians in our society are consuming insolence and wearing it as a badge of honor ought to break our hearts – where are those who follow the sacrificial Lamb wherever He goes? Where are those who are chosen with Him, as lambs for slaughter? Where are those who will join Jesus on the Cross for the salvation of others? Where are those who are willing to lose so that others may win?

 

Paul writes, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons” (1 Cor. 10:21).

 

James instructs us, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthy, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

 

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteous is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:13 – 18.

 

I confess that I have struggled with insolence and anger and sarcasm. I confess that the journey out of these things is ongoing, and that when I do lapse into this toxicity that it is worse than food poisoning – the sin affects my entire system, spiritually and physically, it is sickening and disgusting and it takes time to recover. I know that our Father’s correction of me in these times is given in love and mercy and grace, but O how it is painful.

 

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24 – 26).

 

O how I want to be a son who receives counsel and wisdom, who accepts his Father’s discipline. “Lord Jesus, deliver me from any and all taint of scoffing and insolence, please do not leave me to myself.”

 

This is my desire.

 

What is your prayer and desire?

Pondering Proverbs - Discipline (6)

 

“A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.” Proverbs 13:1.

 

There are four verses in Proverbs Chapter 13 that direct our attention to discipline. The first verse focuses on how a child receives discipline, the fourth verse focuses on whether or not a father loves his child enough to provide discipline: “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently” (Proverbs 13:24).

 

When pondering Proverbs it is important to keep in mind that we are reading the words of a father to a son; after the introduction of Proverbs 1:1 – 7 we read, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” Then in Proverbs 10:1, which begins a new section of the book of Proverbs, “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.”

 

We can ponder Proverbs from the outside looking in or we can receive and ponder Proverbs from the inside; we can sit in the audience and watch Proverbs being performed or we can participate in the drama of Proverbs as actors on the stage (this is true of the entire Bible). That is, we can watch the family, or we can be part of the family and participate in the family. How do you think we typically read and teach the Bible, from the outside or the inside?

 

When we ponder the words of a father to his son in Proverbs, do we see and hear our Father speaking to us, His sons and daughters? When we read that we are to not forsake our mother’s teaching and not be a grief to her, do we see the Church of Jesus Christ, “the Jerusalem above…which is our mother” (Gal. 4:26)? Are we on the stage of life, or are we in the audience? Are we on the playing field, or are we in the stands?

 

Note that we have the “scoffer” once again in Proverbs 13:1, in this case it is a son (or daughter) who scoffs at the father’s discipline. Have you known children who reject and rebel against parental correction and authority? Do you know professing Christians who functionally reject the authority of the Bible? I write “functionally” because we may give lip-service to the Bible’s authority, but in our actions reject that authority. Do we know churches, congregations and denominations, who either overtly or covertly reject the Scriptures?

 

Many seminaries dismantle the authority of the Bible and seek to undermine its integrity, attempting to recreate the Bible in the image of man, and now even attempting to recreate and redefine the image of God and mankind. Is this not scoffing at the authority of our heavenly Father? Are we not tearing the house down around ourselves and living in ruins?

 

O friends, if we will live within the discipline and instruction of our heavenly Father we will live in a place of safety and sanity, and it will enable us to invite others to know our Father as their Father, our Refuge as their Refuge, our Savior as their Savior. Otherwise, all we can invite others into is a house of ruin, a place of rubble, a life of chaos.

 

Today, in Major League Baseball, there are a few players from Japan; those players carry themselves differently than American – born players (we also see this in international competitions, such as the Little League World Series) – especially with respect to authority. Because of the Japanese respect for authority, the decisions of umpires are respected, whether the player agrees with it or not, and outbursts of anger – all too common with players born in the Americas – are pretty much nonexistent. Perhaps a day will come when Japanese players will respectfully publicly disagree with umpires, but still without ranting and raving as some of their teammates.

 

Our heavenly Father and His Word are never wrong, never in error, never amiss. When our Father disciplines us it is always for our benefit and it is always right and just and loving. Do we accept and submit to and obey His discipline and instruction? Do we exhibit the respect for the authority of God our Father that is akin to the respect Japanese baseball players give to umpires? Certainly baseball is not as important as eternal life and destiny, certainly umpires are not on a par with God – and yet, do not Japanese baseball players put American – born Christians to shame when it comes to honoring authority?

 

In Matthew 21;28 – 32 Jesus tells the story of two sons and their father.  The father asked the first son to work in the family vineyard and the son said he wouldn’t do it, but afterward regretted what he’d said and went and worked in the vineyard. Then the father asked the second son to work in the vineyard and that son said he would, but then he didn’t go and work in the vineyard. Jesus then asked, “Which of the two did the will of his father?”

 

Which son am I?

 

Which son are you?

Pondering Proverbs - Discipline (5)

 

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1.

 

When I was stationed in Germany our infantry squad had a new sergeant assigned to it, Sgt. Mills. Our former sergeant was a nice guy and pretty much let us go our own way in terms of training and preparedness, but not Sgt. Mills. Sergeant Mills was both demanding and caring, I still recall him inviting us to his home off the base to spend an evening with him and his wife – that was special.

 

Our training took on a purpose and precision that we had lacked, and with the training our morale improved and we became a better unit – if we didn’t perform well Sgt. Mills corrected us and instructed us how to do better. I recall Sgt. Mills telling us, “When we are in the field for maneuvers, when I give a command, I want you to obey it immediately, don’t question me, obey me. Later we can talk about why I gave the command, but when I give it I want you to obey it. I’m training you so that should we ever be deployed in combat I can save your lives."

 

One of the differences between Sgt. Mills and our previous sergeant was that Sgt. Mills had been in combat and our previous sergeant hadn’t.  We would have been stupid to hate and reject the discipline and training Sgt. Mills gave us; potentially our stupidity could have cost us our lives. Also, the knowledge that Sgt. Mills was imparting to us was not just information, it was knowledge that also imbued our hearts and bodies – our hearts and minds and bodies responded holistically, and as a group we performed as one, as a body with many members.

 

Ought not pastors and other leaders within the church train God’s people to engage in daily spiritual warfare? (Eph. 6:10ff; 2 Cor. 10:3ff; 1Pt. 5:8ff). As Oswald Chambers wrote, “Everyday we wake up, we wake up on a battlefield.”

 

What gets in the way of receiving discipline? Is it pride? Can it be insecurity? What else might it be? With me it has been insecurity first, and probably pride second. When I have been unsure of myself and unsure of my position in a given situation I have often rejected discipline – as I reflect on this I should have trusted my heavenly Father and Lord Jesus, I should have looked to them for my security and listened to the discipline and instruction I was given.

 

Many times I have learned valuable lessons from people who had no idea they were teaching me, and from people who were hard and harsh and difficult to work with – but working with them made my performance better and my thinking sharper and my communications more precise. In these relationships I had a job to do and I was going to do it and trust God to teach me in the difficult relationships, and God did just that, transforming me a bit more into the image of Jesus Christ. I wish I could say that all of my difficult relationships were like that, but I can’t, and I don’t want to mislead you, as I wrote in a previous post, sometimes we get things right and sometimes we don’t – thank God for His mercy and grace! We can trust God to teach us from our mistakes and to hopefully redeem them, both in our lives and in the lives of others.

 

The person who hates reproof is consigning himself to making the same mistakes over and over again, isn’t that stupid? Yet, I have indeed been stupid like this with some things, and I wonder why? Have I been prideful? Insecure? Unwilling to stop and listen to our Father? Unwilling to surrender my ego and agenda? Have I been relying on my own wisdom and ability? What makes me stupid? What makes us stupid?

 

I have learned that I am vulnerable in the midst of success, of accomplishment, and I have learned this because our Father has graciously disciplined me during these times. Our Father has taught me to give Him glory in the midst of accomplishment, both because He is the author of all accomplishment and success, and also because my prideful ego can get caught up in itself, putting myself in the center of the universe – rather than God first and others second. There are some things in which I am no longer as stupid as I once was…by His grace and mercy!

 

How has God taught you over the years? How is He teaching and disciplining you today? When have you missed His lessons?

 

How has God used circumstances to teach and discipline you? How does He use other people? How has God’s Word, the Bible, corrected you and taught you?

 

Do you have people in your life with whom you can share these things? Are there brothers and sisters with whom you are partnering in the journey of transformation into the image of Jesus Christ?

 

There were twelve men in our infantry squad, as Sgt. Mills worked with us, as he served us and led us, we were molded into one. Ought not this to be our experience as the people of God? Perhaps we would not be so stupid if we understood our high calling in Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:14)?

What do you think?

Pondering Proverbs – Discipline (4)

 

 

“He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, but he who ignores reproof goes astray.” Proverbs 10:17.

 

An element of learning and growing, an element of responsible teaching and instruction, is reproof, discipline, and correction. Sometimes we are going to get life right, and sometimes we’re going to get it wrong; sometimes we are going to be smart, and sometimes we’re going to be stupid – the point is to learn and grow in Christ and with one another, the point is to move in an ascending and transformative direction. Consider Proverbs 4:18 – 19:

 

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter  until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.”

 

Those who follow Jesus Christ are known in the Bible as disciples, those who follow and are taught in the way of Jesus; and of course Jesus is our Way, He is the Way to the Father (John 14:6). The Great Commission is not about seeing how many people we can get signed- up as passengers on a cruise ship, it is about teaching people the Way of Jesus. Jesus says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:18 – 20).

 

To make disciples is to teach and mentor and serve, to be a disciple is to learn and grow and follow. Necessary elements of the way of discipleship are to heed instruction and to not ignore reproof – if we heed instruction we will be on the “path of life,” if we ignore reproof we will go astray.

 

In our society we often equate instruction with acquiring data and information, but this is not what the Bible means when it speaks of instruction. Biblical instruction is not about being able to compete in a Bible trivia game (how can anything in the Bible be trivial?). Biblical instruction is about learning to live in the Way of Christ, it is about knowing Christ in and through His Word, it is about sharing life with one another in Christ, it is about experiencing the Word of God sacramentally – to the point that we partake of the Divine Nature through the promises of His Word (2 Peter 1:4).

 

We might say that Biblical instruction is holistic – it forms our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits; it touches and transforms the whole person into the image of Jesus Christ – and it does so not only individually, but as the People of God. Without transformation into the image of Jesus Christ we do not have Biblical instruction – we might have a transfer of information, it may be a data dump, but it is not true Biblical instruction.

 

Religious consumerism generally does not have “reproof,” which is a critical element of Biblical instruction. It does not have reproof because we want to feel good all the time. To play off a popular “Christian” mantra, “We want to feel good all the time, and all the time we want to feel good.”

 

I recall, shortly after coming to a new parish, meeting with a member of the congregation who was engaged in thinking and behavior extremely detrimental to herself and her family. At one point in our discussion she said to me, “I didn’t think pastors were supposed to have conversations like this with their parishioners.” I’m sure her comment reflects the thinking of most Christians, but consider Paul’s words to Timothy:

 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training [discipline] in righteousness…” (2 Tim. 3:16).

 

If the Word of God is active in my life, then I will receive reproof and correction and discipline through the Word – both as I meditate and study the Word, and as the Body of Christ shares the Word with me…and in doing so I will travel the “path of life” and not go astray.

 

This, my friends, is about becoming mature men and women in Jesus Christ – it is about learning to mentor and teach others as our Way of Life, it is about moving from Christian consumerism, which is all about us and which lacks discipline and reproof, to life being all about Jesus Christ and others, submitting to Christ and His Word and to one another in the reverent fear of God (Eph. 5:21).

 

As we ponder Proverbs 10:17, what does our journey on the path of life look like today?

 

 

 

Pondering Proverbs - Discipline (3)

 

“He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.” Proverbs 9:7 – 9.

 

Do you see similarities between Proverbs Chapter 9 and Proverbs 1:20 – 33? What do you see that is different? How would you describe the story [narrative] of Proverbs 9?

 

How might you compare Proverbs 9 with Psalm 1?

 

How might Proverbs 9:7 – 9 help us understand Matthew 7:6?

 

When I read a passage like Proverbs 9:7 – 12 I wonder how I, myself, receive instruction. It is so easy for me to look at others and to attempt to apply Scripture to them, but am I submitting to Scripture? Am I allowing the Word to search my heart and my mind and my soul? Or am I being so foolish as to think that I can hide anything from God? Am I justifying my own foolishness and ego and sin?

 

Well, for sure, as Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Approaching Scripture in holy reverence, before the Throne of God, puts us in a posture to humbly read, listen, ponder, and receive God’s Living Word in Jesus Christ. The healthy and holy and reverent fear of God helps us receive His discipline as coming from our Father, who is Creator of all.

 

Have you noticed that the Bible talks about scoffers, about those who scorn pretty much everything as a way of life? Consider the very first verse of Psalms, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.”

 

Then we have Proverbs 9:12, “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you scoff, you alone will bear it.” (Though make no mistake, whether we are wise or whether we scoff will affect others – for good or evil – consider 1 Timothy 4:16 as a positive example.)

 

Scoffing poisons our souls and makes it difficult to hear and submit to the Word of God and the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit. Scoffing feeds on itself, the more we scoff then the more we scoff – our minds and hearts become dominated by scoffing and scorn, our mission is to tear down and not build up, it is to exalt ourselves at the expense of others rather than to serve others with the peace and truth of Jesus Christ. When we scoff we become known for what we are against rather than what we are for – we become demolition crews and not builders.

 

Many of the most popular television and radio programs have scoffers as their “stars” – this is true across the political spectrum. Many (most?) of those in political power have built political bases by scoffing – and the more scorn and scoffing the better. Many political rallies are nothing more than scoffing rants in which scorn and vitriol and hate seek greater decibel levels. Sadly, professing Christians often drink and propagate this poison; rather than following the Lamb wherever He goes we associate with the wolves of this present age – and our scoffing has so deafened our moral and spiritual ears that we justify our sin.

 

And so we have congregations in which scoffing is the glue that holds the group together…and woe to the pastor who attempts to guide his people to the sacrificial Lamb, leading his people above the fray of this rebellious age – as our passage says, “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you…”

 

As I have shared elsewhere, God has convicted me of scoffing and the conviction has put my face and heart in the dust. I now fear the poison of scorn and scoffing, I fear the hate and vitriol it brings, the blindness and deafness – I fear how it soils the testimony of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God.

 

By God’s grace I want to be wise and receive instruction, discipline, and reproof from God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, and my brothers and sisters. By His grace I want wisdom to share insights with others, and to discern when to share and how to share.

 

When I read Proverbs Chapter 9, I want to see myself as eating from the table of Wisdom and not that of folly.

 

What about you? When you read Proverbs Chapter 9, how do you see yourself?

Pondering Proverbs – Discipline (2)

 

“Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” Proverbs 1:23.

 

God our Father not only loves His particular children, exhibiting that love in paternal discipline, but He also loves the world and extends His reproving discipline to all mankind. This longsuffering, convicting, and disciplining love is given to lead mankind to repentance. And so in Proverbs 1:20 – 22 we read:

 

“Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: How long, O naïve [simple] ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge?”

 

God is ever revealing Himself to the people of the world, and yet most of us refuse to see Him, to hear Him, to acknowledge Him, to glorify Him, to submit to Him. In Romans 1:18 – 32 we see that we “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” even though God reveals Himself both within us and within creation. And then we have (Rom. 1:21 - 22), “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.”

 

Likewise in Proverbs 1:20 – 33 we see the downward regression of those who reject the Wisdom of God, the Voice of God speaking to us in the course of life. We read, “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of Yahweh.”

 

There came a point when God shut the door on the Ark of Noah. There comes a point of no return in the lives of people and societies. Paul writes that God sends a strong delusion on those who do not “receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:8 – 12).

 

God reveals Himself within us, giving us an innate sense of right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice – He gives us a sense of goodness, truth, and beauty. God also reveals Himself to us through His creation and His Word (Psalm 19). If we will listen to Him we will know that we ought to be other than what we are, better than what we are, higher than what we are – we will know that we have a home elsewhere, a destiny other than the grave, other than ego, power, wealth, fame, and the myriad facades of this world.

 

But if we will not listen, then our souls will become cold and dark and dull – and we will implode upon ourselves and upon one another. Is this not what we see around us?

 

Wisdom shouts, but we drown her voice, we stop our ears, we mock her – fools that we are. We tear the image of God down and trample it in the dust, bury it in the ground, and attack those who would honor God and His image. We call good evil and evil good; we call right wrong and wrong right. We give our allegiance and hearts to the kingdoms of this world, kingdoms in rebellion against God (Psalm 2, Daniel 2). We propagate a Christless Gospel without the Cross – a message that requires nothing from us, certainly not our lives – in contrast to the call of Jesus Christ (Mark 8:34ff).

 

Proverbs 1:20 – 33 is a tragedy in many ways, for it certainly leads to the book of Lamentations. Yet, let us not forget its concluding promise, a promise that we have in Jesus Christ:

 

“But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

As Noah was safe in the Ark, so we are safe in Christ. 

 

Amen.

Pondering Proverbs - Discipline (1)

  

A few years ago, when pondering Proverbs, I jotted down verses under a few headings, subjects that had been speaking to me through my regular reading of this book of wisdom. I wonder what I’ll find as I revisit them?

 

Discipline: Just yesterday I was talking to a friend about Hebrews 12:4 – 11, in which we read a quote from Proverbs 3:11 – 12, “My Son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.”

 

In Hebrews 12:4 – 11 we also read, “…shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” And then we see that God our Father, “disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” And then we see that “those who have been trained by it [discipline]” will see the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” in their lives.

 

Can we hear the words of Jesus to the church in Laodicea? “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Rev. 3:19).

 

Discipline is an expression of God’s love for us; yes, yes, yes, as Hebrews 12:11 states the obvious, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful…” Nevertheless, discipline distinguishes between “illegitimate children and…sons” (Heb. 12:8). In fact, all of God’s children “have become partakers” of discipline (Heb. 12:8).

 

The way of discipline is the way of discipleship, it is the way of learning and growing and training and transformation into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Biblical way of discipline is within the context of God’s love for us, and within His love is His desire that we share in His holiness – that we partake of His Nature (2 Peter 1:4).

 

We can partake of the nature of the world, of the present age; or we can partake of the Nature of God. If we partake of the nature of the world we will imbibe poison, if we partake of the Nature of our Father, submitting ourselves to His discipline, we will yield “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

 

Hebrews Chapter 12 begins with the call to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” Running a race to win requires training, and the race that Hebrews calls us to run is patterned on the men and women of faith in Chapter 11 and especially on our Lord Jesus Christ “who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2).

 

Getting in the game requires training, and training requires discipline, and discipline requires endurance. Do we allow ourselves to be content sitting on the bench – usually a pew – watching others engage in the game of life? We watch videos of the game, we have small groups that study the game and talk about it, we attend lectures on the game, we sing about the game – but we don’t play the game ourselves, we aren’t in the game – in fact, we won’t accept the discipline, we won’t endure the least discomfort (we usually seek to avoid it and gravitate toward teachers who help us avoid it), we refuse to learn the playbook, and we pretend to be injured when called to get off the bench end enter the game.

 

Is discipleship a “virtual reality” in our lives, or is it an actual reality?

O that we might always remember that our Father’s discipline is an expression of His love for us!

 

The Cup

 

The Cup

 

By: Robert L. Withers (by Christ’s grace)

(Revised March 2021)

 

O Father let this cup please pass away

If it be possible, this I pray

I long to be with You always,

But to drink this cup is to drink the pain

And sin of all humanity,

It is to cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

Born to drink this cup I know I am

From Mary’s breasts in Bethlehem to

This garden named Gethsemane,

Right named Olive Press, for my soul is

Pressed with impending death and separation,

And I will cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

From Mary’s arms to this garden cup

To sour wine offered upon the Cross

Which soon shall be, I’ll drink the dregs

Of humanity, of men and women,

Of boys and girls,

And as I drink my cry will be, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

 Down the corridors of time, from ages past

To ages future, as long as they shall last

I’ll go to each person who is living now,

Who has lived in the past and who is yet to come.

I’ll take their cups and pour in mine, their sin, their death, all of their crime.

I’ll drink it down, all of their cups, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

My soul is sorrowful unto death,

I am pressed down with little breath

Left in this body, left in this soul,

But drink I must, and drink it whole, I must empty the cup

With all it contains, the death, the sin, the separation, the pain

And as I drink darkness will descend, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

Who will watch with me this hour?

Who will resist Satan’s power?

Who will surrender his will to God?

Who will share my Cross, my shame?

Who will embrace Him who is despised?

Who will hear the depths of my cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

I drink your cup of sins, I drink them

Little or big; black or white lies it matters not,

They have all separated you from your God.

I drink your pride and ego too, I take into me

All there is of you, my cry is because I bear your sins,

I bear you too, you are in my heart as I cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

I must go now, my betrayer is at hand,

The cup I shall drink, it is in my Father’s plan,

I shall drink it for Him, and I shall drink it for you,

I shall drink the cup and enter the abyss of pain,

And before the sun sets tomorrow, the heavens shall

Hear my cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 

But know that you are my joy and I did this for you,

To bring you home to my Father, and your Father too.

For after that questioning cry on the Cross, will be

“It is finished.” “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”

I drank the cup of sin and death for you, a cup I’d not tasted till I drank it for you.

I now offer you my cup of love and of life - forged on the Cross; what will you do?

Jesus Enters The Temple

 

“And Jesus entered the temple…” Matthew 21:12.

 

I wonder what Jesus finds when He enters my temple?

 

What does He need to drive out? To cleanse?

 

What needs to be overturned in my life so that I might be a house of prayer?