Parenting by Design Daily DevotionalSample
DISCIPLINE AND LOVE
As hard as it is to deliver a consequence to a child for a bad choice, the alternative can often be even worse. When I am tempted to forego discipline, I have to ask myself, "What is the most loving thing I can do for my child?" In almost every case, the answer is to give the child the consequence he has earned, so he can learn the lesson God has designed for him.
A good consequence, delivered with empathy, demonstrates love and respect for your child's freedom to choose and his ability to learn from the consequence of a bad decision. The author of Hebrews says it well: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb 12:11).
As hard as it is to deliver a consequence to a child for a bad choice, the alternative can often be even worse. When I am tempted to forego discipline, I have to ask myself, "What is the most loving thing I can do for my child?" In almost every case, the answer is to give the child the consequence he has earned, so he can learn the lesson God has designed for him.
A good consequence, delivered with empathy, demonstrates love and respect for your child's freedom to choose and his ability to learn from the consequence of a bad decision. The author of Hebrews says it well: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb 12:11).
Scripture
About this Plan
The purpose of this devotional is to see what God's Word has to say about the parenting challenges every parent faces. Each day includes a passage of Scripture and an application of that passage to the trials and triumphs of leading families to maturity in Christ. The devotionals are created by Parenting by Design, a Fort Worth ministry devoted to teaching parents to lead their children the way God lead His children.
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We would like to thank Parenting by Design for providing their daily devotional. For more information about Parenting by Design, please visit: www.parentingbydesign.com