Correction and Instruction

“My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.” Proverbs 1:8-9

I have heard it said that we often get our view of God from our fathers. If your father was a harsh disciplinarian, you may have a skewed view God as one who sits on the throne of judgment waiting for you to fail so that he can discipline you. Perhaps your father was more of a compassionate man. He might have gotten down on eye-level with you as a child and gave you a stern, but calm talking-to when you threw your sister’s Barbie in the toilet. Your image of God might be very different from the first example.

There is much we can learn about God from godly parents. Correction and instruction are necessary for children to learn and become mature and responsible human beings. The Bible says that what you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

As children of God we need correction and instruction as well. The Bible teaches that the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. David writes in Psalm 19, “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.” God’s correction and instruction are necessary to help us become mature and responsible children of God. What we learn from them will also crown us with grace and be a chain of honor around our necks.