Care Conversations 20 – Reinforcement and Correction of What?
How do we put our understanding of God’s commands, and His desire to develop righteousness, into our desire to reinforce and correct? We are to look to the God of the Bible to determine our reasons for exercising discipline. The key question is, “How does God do it?” Let us then, reflect that into the way we relate to those for whom we are responsible.
- God secures us in covenant relationship with Himself.
Our incorrect behaviour will not disrupt that security. He loves us despite our actions and responses. We are to love our students and provide the secure environment where growth can take place.
- God tells us how we are to live, “Love God; Love people”.
If God does not exist, there is no good reason to treat human beings as having dignity. But He does exist, and He reigns over all! As an act of reverence, respect and response to the Creator, we are called to value His creation – human beings.
There is an expectation, ‘to live in love’, there are boundaries to the actions that should arise from that love.
- Our understanding of what is right and wrong is determined by the question, “Is this an act of love?”
Our discipline does not just involve the correction of negative behaviour but also remediation of the absence of positive behaviour.
Using the well-known story of the Good Samaritan as illustration: Neither the Priest nor the Levite did anything wrong; but they did not do what was right.
The Samaritan did what was right, he stopped and helped bind the wounds of the injured man. But he went further; he provided future care for the injured man. Did he have to? No, not if obedience to the rules was all that was required.
What is the opposite of loving God and loving others? Strangely, it may be loving ourselves first. The priest and the Levite asked, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to ME?” Whereas the good Samaritan asked, “If I do NOT stop to help this man, what will happen to HIM?” So, with our students we are not just correcting their wrongness but correcting their lack of rightness.
Ultimately only through an understanding of God’s great and generous grace will any of us know right from wrong and have the character to live in that truth – that’s the goal of our reinforcement and correction.
Blessings
Brian