When you hear the word discipline you think of the practice of training people to obey rules, using punishment to correct disobedience or one’s inappropriate behavior. We discipline our children so that they do not grow up to be out of control, rude, impolite adults. We discipline people who break the law, or rape or murder with a punishment that is enforced because of the crime they have committed. There are consequences to our actions. Deuteronomy 8:5 reads, “So you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was discipling you just as a man disciplines his son.” Hebrew 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” In the Christian faith, God’s discipline refers to the loving guidance and training that God, as a Father, provides to his children (believers) to help them grow in righteousness and holiness. It’s not about punishment as some would have us believe or think but about turning away from sin and inappropriate behavior. No matter whether it is the secular understanding of discipline or discipline of believers in God, both involves consequences for one’s actions. For the Christian discipline is about shaping character and fostering a closer relationship with God, through love and guidance. Sometimes we misunderstand God’s discipline for us and associate it with pain and meanness. God’s discipline is never manifested that way. It is aways through love and guidance. It is something to think about. God Bless. Amen.