Love and Correction
My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.
God knows that correction can discourage and dishearten us, so He explains the purpose of correction and His motive for correcting us to help us see it from His perspective.
He loves us even more than a human father loves his children. As a human father sets boundaries to protect and help his children grow into responsible and successful adults, God corrects out of love, to help prepare us to inherit eternal life in His family! Without the correction, we would continue to choose the way that produces misery. We would not change and wouldn’t be prepared to live joyfully forever.
This proverb is quoted in the book of Hebrews (12:5-6), which adds this insight into the results of correction: “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (verse 11).
Our article “How to Study the Bible” explains the teachable attitude we need to approach God’s Word correctly. We must be willing to receive correction in areas in which we have failed to live up to God’s standards, so we can begin the process of change God expects from us. Reading and heeding the Bible can be a less painful way to learn the necessary lessons.
