Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlestor, OK
Nov. 22, 2011

“Wearing Corrective Spiritual Shoes”
“…don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under His loving correction…" – Proverbs 3:11 (The Message)

An old story with a great message revolves around a young boy from Tennessee who was acting up in church. After several minutes the father had had quite enough – picked the boy up and headed toward the back where he would discipline the young lad. While on the way down the aisle, the young lad was heard to say, “Ya’ll pray for me, ya hear?”
When we hear the word discipline probably the first thing that comes to our minds is that of punishment. While that interpretation is certainly a proper one it falls far short of what this verse is trying to apply to our lives. Notice if you would the last word, “correction,” for that is key to what God is really about! His desire and goal for us is that we have an upright and “correct” existence.
I remember as a young boy having to wear “corrective” shoes. I don’t know if there is a new politically correction way to say it but I was what was once referred to as being “pigeon-toed.” My feet tended to point inward when I walked. The shoes were made in a way that would force me to walk “correctly,” causing my feet to stay straight instead of inward. I absolutely hated wearing them! They felt funny, looked even funnier and while every other boy was wearing comfortable tennis shoes (or so I imagined) I had to wear these ridiculous looking things! Fortunately, within a year’s time the shoes had completed their task and I was back to being normal. (If normal actually exists!)
As a parent – I understand how important it was to “discipline” my children. The following is a great example of how discipline applied correctly makes a difference. In the 1994 Winter Olympics held in Norway, 23-year old skier Tommy Moe of the United States captured the gold on the men's downhill. It marked a big comeback for Tommy.
He had shown great potential for years but according to Sports Illustrated, he had a penchant for smoking pot and drinking. In 1986 as a 15 year old, he was invited to be a part of the U.S. Ski team, but when the coaches learned that he sneaked out of camp to smoke pot, they kicked him off the team.
Tommy's father, an Alaskan construction worker, decided his son needed some discipline and he ordered him to come to Alaska. There he put Tommy to work.
Tommy was on the job at 4 a.m. and he labored under the Alaskan sun for 12 to 16 hours a day during the long days of Arctic summer. "I worked his tail off," says Tom Sr., "and then I asked him if he'd rather be doing this or if he'd rather be skiing with the team in Austria. That straightened him out in no time."
Tommy recalls, "It was mental and physical torture but it humbled me up pretty fast." He got serious about ski racing pretty quickly.
Fathers know that children sometimes need discipline and that discipline is hard. But when it is accepted for its benefits, yields big results.
The Lord’s “discipline,” in this verse carries the same application. We have a tendency to walk “crooked” paths! Our nature needs correction to keep us walking according to the path laid out by the Father! While other people are walking what appears to be “pleasurable” paths – God wants us to stay on the correct one! The one that leads to Him!
Pastor J. T. Carnell