My Dear Precious Child,
My children have a negative image in their minds of the words "discipline" and "chasten". They are programmed by the religious and political leaders who are punitive in their handling of lawbreakers. Religious and political leaders are programmed themselves by the traditions of their elders that lawbreakers must be scourged, beaten, flogged or killed for breaking either religious or national laws because of the misunderstanding about the meaning of the words discipline and chasten.
Discipline and chasten mean to disciple a person, to teach the person the proper way to act and behave which produces happy results because of the fact that the person has to live in the world that is filled with other people. Disciplined and being chastened is being properly trained. When a person is properly disciplined in a loving way, he or she will not depart from it because of the pleasant way the discipline has been delivered. (Proverbs 22:6)
When a person is improperly disciplined in a cruel, punitive way, the person will not take to heart the lesson that was meant to be taught. Instead, the disciplined person will become rebellious, dishonored with a damaged heart and instead of the lesson being taught he or she will only remember the slaps, hits or pain from the physical abuse. The only cruel lesson learned is that might is the proper way to handle discipling someone.
Very often a person who needs to be disciplined has been previously programmed by unruly parents or caretakers and taught by example to break laws, rob or kill. Effective discipline must always be administered with love so that the person has pleasant memories of the advice, admonition or commands by the person doing the loving disciplining. When the memories of the training sessions are pleasant, accompanied by loving respect for the trainer, then the trainee will more effectively recall the lesson taught by the trainer and imitate the trainer's teaching and also his or her character.
The most perfect example of discipleship is to study the ways of Jesus Christ and how He trained His disciples. He told His followers that they were pruned of their old lawbreaking behavior by His loving words. Therefore, to discipline a person does not derive from any punitive thoughts, attitudes, speech or actions that injure, hurt or embarrass the trainee.
Rightfully disciplining a child or adult involves training in lessons which will produce actions that eventually enhance the life of the adult or child with new actions which will have a beneficial result such as an eventual reward which will greatly enhance the life of the person. When the person who is doing the disciplining is a person of good character that is worth emulating, the person being disciplined will more easily want to mirror his or her trainer's behavior and take to heart his or her training.
When Jesus Christ told His disciples that He was going to have to leave them, His disciples were brokenhearted and wanted to go with Him, which reflects the loving words and actions which He used in their discipleship training by Jesus Christ. If His training of His followers had been cruel and filled with punishment for them, they would have been delighted at the departure of Jesus Christ instead of being brokenhearted. (John 14:33-37)
When the believers of the first church received letters from the apostles correcting their behavior, they were reminded that a good father always disciplines or corrects his children with words of wise guidance. Discipleship is using wise and loving guidance in order to train My children which produces behavior fitting of My kingdom of God.
Paul wrote to the Hebrews that they must not despise My chastening or correction when they were being rebellious and following after false prophets and pagan lusts. He knew that his words of My correction of them was for their continued warnings from Me on how to keep them on the narrow path to salvation from the evil demons in the world whose purpose is to produce hell on earth for My children. He called their chastening of them "reprimands" which are verbal. He wrote that I love and punish all those that are My children. Stern but loving reprimands can be considered good punishment, especially when a person is headed toward the pits of hell in the earth created by the devil. Some of the followers of Jesus Christ had returned to the old Law as a means of salvation and I knew that the continued rebellion on the part of those people would result in their destruction and death. I was telling the people that suffering for having received verbal reprimands is often part of training because you also suffer in refusing to obey the passions of the flesh that tempted you formerly that were caused by the devil's temptations to rebel against Me. Paul went on to tell what My Holy Spirit told him to say, that when I reprimanded them for rebellious behavior I was training them as My children because I love them and the training will produce good thoughts, good attitudes, good speech and good actions which further My kingdom of God in the lives of My children with all of its magnificent benefits.
My Holy Spirit went on to say through Paul in his letter to the Hebrews that there has never been a person whose earthly father did not train him or her. He said if they were not getting training in the ways of righteousness that they would not be My children but would be bastards. His right thinking was that earthly fathers had trained them, so they ought to be even more willing to submit themselves to Me, their spiritual Father, so that they would stay on the path to life and My gifts of giving life more abundantly. Also His wisdom was that earthly fathers were thinking of the short life of the flesh when they chastised you; but He wrote that I chastise you so that later on you will bear fruit of peace and goodness. (Hebrews 12:5-12)
My love for you guides you onto the straight path that leads to the abundant life and godliness. Peter wrote to the churches that it is My divine power that has given to you all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called you to glory and virtue. (II Peter 1:3) My loving and kind discipline, chastening and training always increase My virtue in you and then you shine with My glory because you have been reprimanded to get off of the wide road that leads to destruction and death; and you are correctly disciplined to get back onto the path that leads to My abundant life. (Matthew 7:13-17)
Love always corrects as well as protects.
Your Father of Wise Guidance
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