NOVEMBER 12, Proverbs 22:6

“Mom, you’re always scolding and punishing me,” complained Alicia as she sat on the “time-out” chair. “You never get mad at Sarah.” “Oh, yeah? Think again!” The challenge came from Sarah, who had come into the room and overheard the remark. “I used to get punished a lot, and I still do sometimes. So quit pouting and learn your lesson, sis.”

That afternoon, the family went to the zoo. A special feature was the elephant rides. After watching for a while, Sarah chose to have a ride on the larger elephant, and Alicia wanted to ride the smaller one.

“Want to see how you looked?” asked Dad when the rides were over. He held out his digital camera, and they all gathered around to see the pictures he’d taken. “Did you notice that the trainer just spoke to the bigger elephant while you were riding?” asked Mom. “He sometimes used his stick with the smaller one.”

Alicia nodded. “At first, I thought it was mean of him to do that,” she said, “but he said it was a young elephant and was just learning to obey. He only tapped it, he didn’t hurt it.” “I’m sure the older elephant also gets disciplined from time to time,” said Dad, “but it probably learned from its earlier training and doesn’t need to be corrected so often.”

Mom nodded. “I guess Dad and I are ‘trainers,’ too,” she said. “We give you instructions, and sometimes we need to correct or discipline you so you’ll learn.” “Yeah,” said Sarah, “and I’ve already learned a lot from having had more years of training than you’ve had, Alicia.”

Dad smiled. “The Bible instructs parents to correct their children,” he said. “That’s the purpose of occasional scoldings and things like the ‘timeout’ chair or “naughty corners”.”

Sarah pointed to a booth next to the elephant rides. “Hey, Dad, maybe you should buy one of the elephant saddles they’re selling over there,” she said. “We could use it for the time-out chair!” “Yeah,” agreed Alicia. “That would make the ‘time-outs’ more fun!”

Dad laughed. “A time-out isn’t supposed to be fun, so no elephant saddle time-out chair,” he said. They all laughed with him.

Thought: When your parents discipline you, it is out of their love, care and concern for you.

Prayer: Father in heaven, thank You for today’s lesson that although at times my parents appear strict, they’re doing it for my good. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.