A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them. Proverbs 13:24 (TM)

I’ve got good kids. In fact, I’ve got great kids. But, they aren’t perfect kids. Discipline is among a parents most difficult tasks, and I think it gets more difficult the older they get. I find discipline decisions can be agonizing. When do you sternly reprimand? When do you punish? When do you give grace and have a good talk? When do you provide creative consequences? When am I going overboard? At what point have I crossed the line from disciplining and actually find I’m exasperating them?

I’m not sure there are easy answers to any of those questions. The key is to constantly work at it, learn from your mistakes, and be willing to change,adapt, and admit when you blow it. Most importantly, as Proverbs constantly instructs, seek God’s wisdom daily.
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A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them. Proverbs 13:24 (TM)

I’ve got good kids. In fact, I’ve got great kids. But, they aren’t perfect kids. Discipline is among a parents most difficult tasks, and I think it gets more difficult the older they get. I find discipline decisions can be agonizing. When do you sternly reprimand? When do you punish? When do you give grace and have a good talk? When do you provide creative consequences? When am I going overboard? At what point have I crossed the line from disciplining and actually find I’m exasperating them?

I’m not sure there are easy answers to any of those questions. The key is to constantly work at it, learn from your mistakes, and be willing to change,adapt, and admit when you blow it. Most importantly, as Proverbs constantly instructs, seek God’s wisdom daily.
_______________
What verse in today’s chapter meant something to
you? Email subscribers
can click on the title of this post and you’ll be taken to a
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The one who stays on the job has food on the table; the witless chase whims and fancies. Proverbs 12:11 (TM)

I have known many people who chase "whims and fancies". There’s the gal who spends money and energy moving from one fad diet after another believing that "this is it". There’s the guy who will invest in one "get rich quick" scheme after another believing the infomercial promises of vast wealth in no time with no work involved. Or, there’s the guy who spends more time at work scheming how to sue his employer from millions than actually doing the job for which he’s getting paid.
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Those who are content to work hard, stay on task, and prove themselves responsible will find themselves rewarded in more ways than one.

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The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.
Proverbs 11:25 (TM)

Wendy and I have a "Meals and Reels" group through our church. We watch a movie each month and then have dinner together the following week to discuss the film. Last month we watched "Pay it Forward" about a boy who comes up with the concept of doing one BIG thing for three people (BIG as in it needs to be sacrificial – it needs to cost you something), then ask each person to "pay it forward" by doing something for three other people. Through multiplication, more and more lives are helped.

What a simple concept. One of the questions our group discussed over our meal was whether the concept was Biblical. While the scripture doesn’t prescribe it as the boy laid it out, the idea is definitely Biblical. Jesus gave sacrificially through his death, then asks us to "pay it forward" by loving and giving – even to the point of giving our very lives for others.

Do I look for opportunities to bless others each day, or does Holy Spirit have to knock me over the head with a 2×4 to get my attention? If I’m not feeling particularly blessed, perhaps I need to ask, "how have I been a blessing to others?" As the old saying goes, what goes around comes around.
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The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words. Proverbs 10:19 (TM)

I like to talk. I’m good at it. Nevertheless, the older I get the more I realize how important it is to measure my words.

• When my children were young I could say foolish things and it would usually fly right over their heads. They are now teen-agers and catch every word I say.
• When I was an employee I could talk about work and my company and no one really paid much attention. Now that I’m a business owner, I realize that those who work for me pay close attention to what I say and weigh every word and the motivations behind them.
• When I was young I could spout off at the mouth and it could be dismissed as youth and immaturity. Now that I’m in positions of authority (at home, at work, at church, in the community) any idle word can come back to haunt me and erode my witness.

I think James 1:19 is a great addition to today’s verse: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry".
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If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you’ll get slapped in the face; confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins. So don’t waste your time on a scoffer; all you’ll get for your pains is abuse. But if you correct those who care about life, that’s different—they’ll love you for it! Save your breath for the wise—they’ll be wiser for it; tell good people what you know—they’ll profit from it. Proverbs 9:7-10 (TM)

This is an interesting verse to read during a week in which I’m doing a lot of call coaching for a client. I have coached "arrogant cynics" and have been figuratively slapped by their attitude. I’ve confronted bad behavior and scoffers have "kicked" me for it. But the vast majority of those I’ve coached care about their jobs, their customers, and life. They will take what I’ve shared and use it to profitable ends. At the end of the day, those are the people who make it all worthwhile.
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I love those who love me; those who look for me find me. Proverbs 8:17 (TM)

Isn’t it interesting that yesterday it was the seductress in the streets, speaking and ensnaring the foolish who would follow after her. Today it’s a different woman, Wisdom, who stands in the street speaking and inviting the wise to follow after her.

Whenever we go out our door we will will find both "women" – temptation and wisdom. Each day we must choose to which of them we will listen.
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Soon she has him eating out of her hand, bewitched by her honeyed speech. Before you know it, he’s trotting behind her, like a calf led to the butcher shop, Proverbs 7:21-22 (TM)

As much as Solomon wrote about the seductress, the same can be true for both sexes. The culture in which Solomon wrote was one in which women had little or no status. Sex was, perhaps, the one way women could wield any kind of power of men. The reality is that the principles are true whether it is a female seducing a male or a male seducing a female. The bottom line is that we all need to guard our hearts.

I also walk away from the chapter thinking about Solomon, one of the most affluent kings of his time, who had hundreds of wives and concubines. It doesn’t change the truth of the teaching, but I wonder how he reconciled it in his own mind.
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You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?  Proverbs 6:6-9 (TM)

I’ve been working from a home office for almost 15 years. It requires a bit of self-discipline. There is no one looking over your shoulder. You have to make yourself do the work, even when there are a million distractions. My job also has an ebb and flow to the workload. There are seasons when it seems I work around the clock, and a few precious others when I can relax and enjoy a little breather.

I’ve learned through the years that not everyone can manage working like this. I’ve witnessed some who take advantage of the freedom the job offers. They take off all sorts of time, but then when things get busy and there are deadlines looming they still want to only work 40 hours or less a week. Clients, employer, and co-workers suffer as a result.

Another piece of advice David had for his son, Solomon…"Be strong and courageous, and do the work. (I Chronicles 28:20)
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