Discipline…Oh How I Need You

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but he who hates reproof is stupid. Proverbs 12:1

Yes the Bible uses the “s” word as my kids say. (And I’m happy that is what they think the “s” word is for now.)

Hates reproof…That bowing up I get when someone tells me I mis-spelled a word on my blog or that frustration that surges through me when my husband reminds me I didn’t speak kindly.

Um…often I hate reproof. I hate to be wrong…ever.

I like to think I love knowledge, but I can’t say I love discipline…

I can say I love it when I discipline myself. I love the results, the peace, the semi-organized state it helps me achieve…But the discipline itself?!

God in His infinite wisdom is having me work on discipline this year….We are nearly half-way through the year and I don’t love it and really I don’t have it in my life.

I want to love it. I want to love discipline…I want to appreciate the concerted effort discipline creates. The kind that means all I do in the day has purpose.

I have a rebellious heart. It claims it doesn’t want to be disciplined. I know that is a lie. So it is a battle of my heart and mind. My mind telling my heart to what it needs to do and my heart saying “I don’t feel like it.”

But there is hope.

Hope that God’s Spirit will continue to work in my life.

Hope that I with God’s grace I will not quench the Spirit’s work so He can grow the fruit of self-control in my life.

Hope that I will learn to love discipline and reproof.

Father help me learn to love discipline and reproof. May I no longer be stupid, but truly love knowledge. Grow in me self-control, discipline, and a teachable heart. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.