God. The issues of discipline are issues of character development and
honoring God. It is God’s non-negotiable standard that fuels
correction and discipline.
Your objective in discipline is to move toward your children, not
against them. You move toward them with the reproofs and entreaties
of life. Discipline has a corrective objective. It is therapeutic, not
penal. It is designed to produce growth, not pain.
There are other parenting issues with which to be concerned. You
must understand more than what it means to function as God’s agent.
You must be concerned with more than the nature of discipline.
Parents must be goal-directed. In the next chapter we will explore the
issue of parenting goals. What are biblical goals for parenting? What
things have we adopted from our culture that we must assess and
address?
Application Questions for Chapter 4(^) 1. What do you think is the nature of your authority as a
parent? How does this square with a biblical view?
(^) 2. How frequently does your correction of your children boil
down to an interpersonal contest rather than an underscoring
of God’s authority over your children?
(^) 3. What are some things you can do to keep your discipline
focused on turning your children to the paths of life?
(^) 4. How do you present your authority to your children? Do
you ever find yourself saying things like “I am your
father/mother, and as long as you live here, you’re going to
have to listen to me!”?
(^) 5. How would you describe your job as God’s agent for
discipline? How will seeing yourself as God’s agent change
the way you discipline?
(^) 6. Would you be willing to sit down and analyze the following