Embrace the Within no. 37

“He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and

appropriately [with wisdom and love].”

Proverbs 13:24 AMP

We hear this paraphrased all the time to defend folks using violence upon their children and reframing that violence as discipline. Well, rods and staffs were important tools used by Hebrew shepherds BUT they never used the rod to beat their sheep. The rod was a weapon against those that would come after their sheep. The rod was used to nudge and guide the wayward sheep away from danger. The rod was not a danger to the sheep. The rod was protection and guidance.

This is a problem of taking a piece of scripture and lopping off part of the sentence and then applying the prevailing secular wisdom to the scripture. The rest of the verse says that if you love your child you discipline them and also training your children appropriately. That means being involved in teaching them the right way. That means modeling what it means to walk correctly. That means living the wisdom of God and the love of God in your life as a guide for their lives. There is no wisdom in beating either your sheep or your children. And that is why the scripture does not say to beat, hit, or punish your child. It says to discipline your child. It says to guide your child. It says to love your child. If your only way of controlling another is through violence, then join the government. That is the language of the oppressor.

Being a parent is not a job of oppression. Being a parent is a difficult job. Being a parent isn’t for the weak of heart. Being a parent means doing what is best for your child and sacrificing yourself.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin

Embrace the Within no. 36

“Lord, I will sing about your faithful love for me.

My song of praise will have your justice as its theme.

I’m trying my best to walk in the way of integrity,

especially in my own home.

But I need your help!

I’m wondering, Lord, when will you appear?

I refuse to gaze on that which is vulgar.

I despise works of evil people

and anything that moves my heart away from you.

I will not let evil hold me in its grip.

Every perverse and crooked way I have put away from my heart,

for I will have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness.

I will silence those who secretly want to slander my friends,

and I will not tolerate the proud and arrogant.

My innermost circle will only be those

who I know are pure and godly.

They will be the only ones I allow to minister to me.

There’s no room in my home for hypocrites,

for I can’t stand chronic liars who flatter and deceive.

At each and every sunrise I will awake to do what’s right

and put to silence those who love wickedness,

freeing God’s people from their evil grip.

I will do all of this because of my great love for you!”

Psalms 101 TPT

If there is a psalm to summarize my journey over the past fourteen days, then nothing does it much better than this one. I awaken every day and, as the psalmist says, “At each and every sunrise I will awake to do what’s right”. And what is right? Of course the abstraction of loving God and neighbor is what is right in theory BUT in practice, what is right?

For me that is getting my temple in order. Physically, mentally, and spiritually preparing for each day before the obstacles and challenges enter my path. And they enter my path daily. So, doing my best to prepare for those challenges is the way to start each day.

So, in practice that means that I awake with prayer before I ever leave my bed. In practice that means that I work my physical body every morning. In practice that means I start drinking water every morning and drink water all day. In practice that means reading scripture every morning and thinking about that scripture and applying its meaning to my life. In practice that means eating foods that are from nature and are nourishing to my body which also means that I make my meals in advance for work so that I do not choose poorly. In practice that means having a definite plan each day. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

So often we don’t have a plan for our lives and that leads us to trouble. To get better at anything, I have to practice that thing well. So every day I awake I practice living correctly. That practice is then something I can get better at doing.

I have tried in the past to just go through life and wing it. You know. Have no plan and just let life take you wherever it wants. That is a path of disaster. I have been down that road. It’s a road of unhealthy choices and worsening health. It is a road filled with poor choices. And I want to make better choices for my body, my mind, and my spirit.

And that all starts by practicing what is going to make the best path forward for all my nephesh. I only get one body, one mind, and one spirit for all eternity. So, I am going to live like it is the temple that YHWH deserves. I don’t want to be a shambles. I don’t want to be in ruin. I don’t want to be a mess. I want to be the best temple I can be.

I can only be the best temple if I spend every day cleaning and working on the upkeep. This temple isn’t going to do the work on its own. I have to get into the routine of renovation and restoration every day.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin