As a father it is always a challenge to correct my daughters; I spend a lot of time thinking about the heart behind teaching and correction and how it is perceived. Of course when you are being corrected it is hard and you have a lot of reactions to it, but on the other hand there is always a love and a purpose in God behind it. And this is why I came up with this definition of correction:
Correction is someone helping you get from A to B in the least amount of time.
Teaching and correction helps each one of us achieve our goals and achieve our potential. That is the heart of parents: they so love their children that they want them to be everything God has created them to be. However, in our immaturity we don’t see ourselves the way others see us, and sometimes we don’t really see our potential, and that is where the reactions to correction come in.
A lot of times I see people in a cycle, wasting so much time having a hard time with life and in the process getting hurt and frustrated. But the truth is that if they would open up to be directed and instructed, in other words, corrected, they would probably save a lot of time! Everyone is in a process of going where they need to be, but the question is how fast can you get there?
Correction has nothing to do with rejection; it is the expression of love and care, the heart of a father and a mother for their children.
Here are some scriptures that I love:
“Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.” (Psalm 119:165, NLT)
“Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’ ”” (Hebrews 10:7, NLT)
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. ” (Psalm 119:71, ESV)
“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8, NLT)