This summer I am leading a group through my Wise Worship study on the book of Proverbs, and in reading back through, these two verses from chapter 3 have stuck with me. If you are familiar with the book of Proverbs, you know it is all about wisdom, and these verses deal with the wisdom of discipline.

For many of us, the word discipline comes with negative connotations, and so we may be put off by this verse. Too often we associate discipline with punishment. But the Hebrew nouns for discipline and reproof in this verse can also mean correction.

When I think about the word correction, I think of bringing someone in line. When you are corrected, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are doing something bad, but wrong. For example, if a child is working on their math homework and writes “2+2=5,” you would correct them, not punish them. This mistake does not mean they are bad, it means they are learning. Correction, or discipline, is a means by which we learn.

Now if you have some perfectionist tendencies (*raises hand*), this can still be hard. When we are corrected it hits us in our pride. It can be hard to accept that you are wrong. But if we want to remain on the path of wisdom, we must receive God’s correction whenever we start to stray.

And because God is a loving Father, we can trust that His discipline will always be done in love. He is no strict teacher standing over us with a wooden ruler ready to smack our knuckles when we make a mistake. Although the correction may not feel good in the moment, it will be for our ultimate betterment. He corrects because He loves, “as a father the son in whom he delights” (3:12b).

So my encouragement (for myself more than anyone) is to welcome His correction with open arms. Offer yourself up to the Holy Spirit and together search for any areas you may be straying from the wise path. Then let the Father lovingly guide you back into obedience by way of His discipline. This is for our good and His glory.