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?