By Lamont H. Fuchs, Ed.D.
Scripture references: Hebrews 12:8, Matthew 10:28
The scripture is tough but easy to understand. The formula is simple. If we expect heavenly rewards after we leave this old world, we need to expect discipline as a consequence of our actions while we are here. Without accepting the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, it will be hell as retribution.
God is a disciplinarian. There is no denying it. He hasn’t changed, and He never will. He is demanding, fair, and best of all, He loves us. He is the perfect Father.
People I witness to and talk with have a problem understanding how God can be so severe in the Old Testament and so loving in the New Testament. Understanding that He is the same God and He hasn’t changed is difficult for nonbelievers and the faithful. Reading God’s Word tells it all. The Spirit leads believers to have faith and understand what it means to fear God and love God. He’s the best Father I have ever had, and I know what He has done for me.
To paraphrase Hebrews 12:8, if you are not disciplined, like everyone else, you are illegitimate children and not sons. Harsh words to consider, but the essence is there. God wants you to expect to be chastised if you call yourself His heir.
I have said before how much I love the study of words. Of course, I enjoy researching God’s word specifically, but other words, too. Words often carry such meaning for me that the research becomes fascinating to learn the mystery behind the meanings, how they might have developed, and how they are used now. The study of words is called etymology.
Etymology sounds like the study of bugs or something else, but it comes from the Greek stem, which means the “True Sense.” Ology is an extension meaning “the study of,” so, in short, the word etymology means – the study of the true sense — finding the real meanings of the words we use.
Discipline is a word like that for me. You can probably take any word and extrapolate the compounds of where the word came from, but some take particular interest to me.
And it’s not fair to take a word and pull it apart unless there is a purpose in doing so. The word we are getting into today is essential to our vocabulary and has been around for a long time. In that time, the term has been modified, repurposed, misused, and in some cases, given an entirely different meaning.
Think about it for a second. How many uses can you think of for the word discipline? Let me try.
- I am a student, and my discipline of study is education.
- I took that young’un and gave him some discipline on his bottom.
- If you can’t discipline yourself, then go back to your desk.
- The teacher maintained a strict discipline using grammar.
- He disciplined his body every day, enabling him to run faster.
The word can be used as a verb for action or a noun for a thing. The original use was quite severe. Discipline meant to punish as a means of instruction. People would discipline themselves when they sinned to punish themselves for being weak and succumbing to temptation or evil. The word was always used to educate or teach, or to give knowledge. Face it; the truth is that pain is a great instructor. Don’t believe me? How long did it take you before you knew what HOT meant or what HOT did to your fingers? Some people take a long time to learn what causes pain and how to avoid it. Some people enjoy the pain and never quite understand what burns their fingers repeatedly. Of course, I’m speaking allegorically. Some people never learn what is hurting them.
I could go on for another 20 minutes about how discipline has been diminished in our society over the past four decades because child Psychologists think discipline is linked to punishment, and using punishment is not how we want to instruct our children in the 21st century. But I’m afraid I can’t agree wholeheartedly, and the concept is anti-biblical.
