The mother glared at the angry little boy and pointed a finger at him. "I have HAD it with you! I'm giving you TWO warnings, THEN you will lose privileges for the rest of the day!" The little boy was not phased a bit by this warning, and continued the undesirably behavior. And who could blame him? He had just been told that he could get away with it once more before he faced consequences! And much to his mother's chagrin, he did just that. When faced with the final warning, he reluctantly settled down and obeyed. But both he and his mother were frazzled by the ordeal. And quite frankly, so was everyone within earshot. I wondered how many times this scene had played out before. Or was destined to play out in the future.
We all want to be good to our children. We dislike having to discipline them as much as we disliked discipline when we were children! But sometimes by prolonging correction, we enable unsatisfactory behavior. Is it the child's fault for seeing how much he can get by with, or ours?
God doesn't play that game. He loves us too much! There are times in my life when He issues only ONE warning. If I do not take notice of it, I will surely receive discipline. If I obey, I avoid negative outcomes. The choice is completely mine. And honestly, sometimes I have had to learn the hard way. But there are times when I realize the seriousness of my behavior and choose to avoid unpleasant consequences. He only disciplines the ones He loves--and I am thankful that He loves me. A whole lot, if you go by the amount of warnings I get!
How do you react to His warnings?
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I certainly wish I could say that I reacted to His FIRST warning each time. But, alas, I'm just like this child.
ReplyDeleteFather, thank You for loving enough to discipline me. Thank You for second chances and third and fourth........ Thank You, Father, for never giving up on me. I love You, Father!