The Bible draws a parallel between the way a father disciplines his children and the way God disciplines us. The Letter to the Hebrews says that as a father loves his children and disciplines them, so God disciplines us through the hardships of life to grow and mature us. The point is that discipline must have a purpose. We endure the struggles of life because we know the purpose is to make us better.
As our earthly families illustrate truth about our relationship with God, so also our relationship with God illustrates best practices in our families. Child-raising requires discipline with purpose. We need a goal and a method. The goal is to produce mature, healthy adults. One method is called the CALM system. “C” is for “calm yourself.” Let go of anger before you proceed. “A” is for “ask what happened. Find out the facts. “L” is for “lead with truth.” Once you are confident you know what actually happened, applied the relevant truth, such as “in this family we don’t hit our siblings.” “M” is for “move forward with a plan.” Envision a different, better way to respond the next time the same situation rolls around.
In our sermon this Sunday we will talk about why most dads discipline wrong and what actually works.