Article - Learning our Lessons
Psalm 141:5 Let a righteous man strike me – it is a kindness; let him rebuke me - it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.
When I was in high school, the majority of my classes did not require a lot of study time. In fact, I have very few memories of ever studying diligently for any test. I was able to “cruise” through high school and finished in the top five percent of my class.
My lack of study habits did not bode well when I went off to college, though. Almost every class required a decent amount of study time. Since I was used to “cruising” through school, I decided that I could get by without putting in the necessary hours with my head in the books. Instead of studying (or even going to class), I would go play basketball or tennis or do anything else besides that which I knew I should be doing. Needless to say, my freshman year at college was a G.P.A. disaster, which took me the rest of my college years to recover from.
Had I acquired the necessary discipline earlier in life, my college time (and career path) might have been much different. I don’t blame anybody but myself for my lack of discipline, but I knew no one who could model a disciplined life for me. Even if there had been a wise person to show me the error of my ways, I doubt I would have listened. A hard lesson learned is sometimes the best teacher.
Discipline is not just a punishment, but a tool that God uses to make us into His image. It usually requires pain, sacrifice or hardship initially, but this is necessary because our natural reaction is to avoid discipline if we can. However, it seems that the more we resist God’s discipline, the greater suffering we experience somewhere down the road of life.
David, the writer of Psalm 141, was a man of many experiences, and recognized the need for discipline in his life. He states that he is willing to let a righteous man strike him or rebuke him if it will save him from sinning. His words in the Psalm above remind me of the oft-quoted passage about discipline in Hebrews:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
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