Psalm 128:1-2
The LORD will bless you if you respect him and obey his laws. Your fields will produce, and you will be happy and all will go well.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I was discussing child discipline with a group of friends recently, and I explained that I do not believe in spanking. I tried it early in my teaching career with lousy results. Once I began using a method called “assertive discipline” and stopped spanking, I virtually quit having any discipline problems in the classroom. Assertive discipline works that well and will work in any setting – school, home, Sunday School, and more! What is the secret to its success? Respect!
Rules are clearly taught at the beginning of the school year… as are consequences for breaking them. Everything is cut and dried. You break this rule… this happens. You break another, that happens… and so on. The consequences begin with a warning and progress to a more serious level. For my kindergarten students, these ranged from “time out” to losing a recess or other privileges, to calling parents. I think maybe I called three parents over the course of several years. The children knew the “laws” we learned together, and they obeyed them. They respected my authority to decide when a rule was broken and to administer the consequence.
There is another part of this discipline plan… and it is vital to the success of the overall program - rewards. Good behavior is rewarded, and the students learn that there is merit in their efforts beyond operating in fear of consequences. The respect is mutual. The teacher is respected as the authority figure, and the students are respected and rewarded for their obedience and cooperation.
Do you see where I’m headed with this? Because of the blood of Jesus, we don’t have to operate in fear, guilt and shame. We can serve obediently because we respect God… and because He respects us and rewards our efforts. We don’t serve and obey to get something… any more than God blesses us simply for our compliance. It’s a two-way street… and that is so cool!
We know what God asks of us… we know His laws. We also know the consequences of disobeying Him. But we may not fully understand how He stands ready to bless us when we show Him respect and submission to His authority. I promise, finding out what He has in store for us is worth it… are you willing to discover this for yourself?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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