Chocolate Discipline

As a parent of a creatively ingenious and a bit naughty child, I often return from the bathroom to find something had happened in the last 48 seconds. Yesterday it was milk poured into the hot chocolate powder to create "Hot chocolate soup. But Mommy it isn't very soupy. It is yummy."

We talked about the naughty side of what she did, but then the powder was still ruined. We couldn't fix this, so she got to have the fruits of her labor (& then took a bath. Cold hot chocolate soup enjoyed with a ladle is quite messy). But, it means that for the next couple of weeks she will not get any hot chocolate.

God disciplines us in many ways. Just as I allowed Snowflake to enjoy her naughtily made concoction, God may allow us the "pleasure" of our sin, but then we face consequences later, when that bad choice led to not having something better in the future.

Discipline isn't to make us mad or deprive us. It is to teach us, to grow us. Discipline teaches us right from wrong, wise from foolish. We all need it in our lives. If we allow God to train is through His judicious and loving discipline our lives will have more peace and joy.

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