May 5: DISCIPLINE IS VITAL TO GROWTH

A familiar verse. often quoted to parents is Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Accepting the truth and the authority of the Bible you now have an immediate explanation for our society’s ills and the prophecy that the next generation is going to get worse.
Things on a downward spiral increase their own momentum. Lawlessness and rebelliousness and a loss of sense of morality is rooted in a lack of discipline. The lack of moral discipline in our contemporary society is the fruit of this generation’s lack of knowledge of Biblical truth of right and wrong.
The so-called “Vietnam Era” lost the Bible and their children have not found it. Undirected energy goes nowhere. I compare it to a “barnyard clematis’ plant we had in our backyard some years ago. For several years it had been a non-productive plant. Then I placed a trellis beside it to see what might happen. It grew to be over six feet tall and was covered with blossoms.. You see, it just never had direction before and never fulfilled its potential for giving out great beauty.
Many adults are like that, adult bodies housing an undisciplined child’s stunted development. A child without discipline is miserable and makes others miserable. Likewise, adults! An unwed, pregnant teenager said to me once, “I wish my parents would give me some rules.”
At any age the Bible is a guidebook for life. Psalm 119:105 (NIV) “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” is David’s way to put you on God’s trellis for growth. Isaiah 30:21 (NIV) affirms “whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying ‘this is the way; walk in it’ “ You can do something about moral lawlessness. Live your Biblical morality. Teach Biblical morality to your children and grandchildren.

“O God, being self-disciplined and giving discipline to our children is not
easy. Give us a strong and loving spirit to follow Your Word. Amen”