1 Peter 1:13-16

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (NRSV)

We have dogs. Currently, we have one dog, but often we have more than one. People know that we rescue poodles, and we are often called to see if we will give a poodle a home. In the past two years, the “yard” that our dogs have enjoyed has changed considerably. First, it was the portable yard that we use for our RV. We bought two units and attached them together, so it was about 6x4 feet. Not very big, but for small dogs, large enough to walk around. Last year, when we moved into the trailer, the yard was considerably larger. There was room to run and play a bit, certainly lots of room to nose around and smell (which the dogs loved to do). In this house, the yard is huge in comparison to anything we’ve had previously. It’s a big lot and the back yard goes from edge to edge. It’s possible not to be able to see our little poodle just looking out the back door; the yard is that big.

One thing every yard had in common was some kind of a fence. The fence is both a protection from at least some of the predators getting in (though there are still those, like snakes, that can get in under the fence) and a protection from the dogs getting out of the yard and being at risk of being hit by cars or stolen by thieves.

The fence is a protection.

As people, we also have a protection. It’s called a conscience. It’s both something we are born with and something we should have been taught as children. Unfortunately, many parents are not good at teaching their children right from wrong and so many children now don’t know that certain things (stealing, physical violence, emotional violence, bullying, etc.) are wrong.

When Peter talks about us preparing our minds for action (and then follows that up with a command for us to discipline ourselves), I believe he is talking, at least in part, about training our consciences how to respond. He is commanding us to learn what is right and what is wrong and to choose what is right.

There are two dynamics to this. First, when we finally have become disciplined—when our consciences are trained to distinguish right from wrong—it is a sign of spiritual maturity. And second, it is a process of training. “Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14 NRSV).

Why am I suddenly so concerned about this? It’s not a sudden concern, actually. Those of you who have followed my spiritual path for a number of years know that I wrote and conducted seminars called “Renovation Living” several years ago which dealt specifically with the idea that the morality of the American Church has deteriorated over the past century, that what we used to condemn is now simply ignored. And we have done it under the guise of “refusing to judge.” The scripture that refers to this has been so misused (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37). As usual, Satan has taken a godly truth and twisted it for his own purposes. And we, as a Church, are the weaker for it.

The fact is that the Bible isn’t tolerant and it does establish specific behavioral boundaries. We are told how to think, how to act, how to make choices and if we are believers, we are expected to stay within those boundaries, those fences. Just as I have fences to protect my dogs, the Bible establishes fences to protect us from sin. Even though my sins are forgiven by His grace, I am commanded not to sin: “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 NRSV).

This week, one of the men from our church called the pastor. He wanted pastor to know that he had been in a physical altercation (yes, a fist fight) with another man and was asking what he should do about it. Pastor told us that this man loved the Lord, but just couldn’t control his temper. I was appalled. How can you love the Lord and beat the stuffing out of another human being (for whom Christ died)? But then, I have gossiped this week and that’s just as bad. How can I hurt someone for whom Christ died if I truly love the Lord?

We need boundaries! We need fences!

I know that I need much more training in distinguishing good from evil, not only to learn where the fence is, but to train my heart to respond to the good and, if I slip, to feel guilt and shame about my sin so that I won’t do it again. Yes, I’m forgiven, but the guilt and shame works to my advantage, to teach me what is wrong and to train me in righteous living. And, probably more than anyone else, I need that!

© 2012 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 6:20-23

“My child, keep your father’s commandment,
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them upon your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,” NRSV

God’s timing is simply amazing!

I subscribe to David Wilkerson’s World Challenge Pulpit Series. Pastor Wilkerson is unlike any other contemporary preacher I have met or read. His words cut to the heart and are filled with Holy Spirit wisdom.

In the sermon I read this morning (“The Healing Power of Afflictions,” 3/31/08), Pastor Wilkerson writes:

“As painful as afflictions are, God uses them to achieve his purposes in our lives. . . . Many believers who face affliction immediately think they’re under unsanctioned satanic attack. . . . Yet, the fact is, Satan can’t lift a finger against any child of God unless the Lord allows it.”

Solomon said something very similar here: “the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.”

Reproofs of discipline. A reproof is a reprimand, an expression of sharp disapproval. In other words, it’s God’s signpost that we are heading in the wrong direction. And it can be as sharp, as strong, as compelling as needed to get us to head back in the right direction.

Reproofs can be emotionally and even physically painful.

I struggle with my weight. I will admit that it’s even to the point where food is an addiction for me. And so, in the last few days, I’ve been journaling what I eat. It not only has kept me on track, but it has shown me how much I focus on, think about food. And while there are physical reasons for my problems with my weight, I also haven’t been willing to discipline my body to the point of “reproofs.”

Reproofs of discipline are the way of life.

God’s Word can be such a comfort. He’s the One I run to when I’m in distress, when I’m confused, when life is out of order. But God never intended for His Word to solely be Charlie Brown’s “warm blanket.” His Word is also intended to be that reproof of discipline which turns us away from that sin we’ve embraced and back into His holy presence. The problem is, we like His Word as a comfort, but we don’t really want to be reproved. We want to be loved, but not disciplined. We want to be embraced, but not corrected.

But the reproofs of discipline are the way of life!

Most of us had our childhood inoculations and gave them to our children as well. Regardless of the current controversy regarding them, the fact is, inoculations were developed to ward off greater threats of serious illness: polio, TB, the herpes virus. In other words, we permitted—even embraced—the temporary pain of the injection in order to turn our bodies away from the path of illness and toward the path of health, of life.

Reproofs can be heavenly inoculations. There are sins in our lives, hidden deep, seemingly small and innocuous, that lurk just below the service. In many cases, we have fed these sins, cultivated them, embraced them until they are comfortable, familiar, even welcomed. And yet each and every sin, regardless of how innocent it may appear, is part of Satan’s plan to destroy us and to win victory in our lives over the Holy Spirit. Father God will not permit it! Rather, He allows the “reproofs of discipline,” regardless of how painful they are, to turn us toward Him and to confront our sin brutally and aggressively. Every sin must be weeded out and destroyed. Righteousness and sin cannot live together.

As difficult as the task is, we must embrace His Word with both its comforts and its reproofs. As Solomon says, this is the way of life.

© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).