Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
This verse is proverbial and timeless. It gives the summary of the author’s thinking in this passage. It is never fun to be disciplined. Discipline is usually experienced as pain because it stops us from seeking our own selfish desires. A little pain now is better than deathly pain later and facing the judgment seat of God. There are so many ways this verse applies in life. What we eat impacts our health. If we eat poor and are undisciplined, our bodies will respond later with more pain from diabetes or heart issues. If we are lazy and do not exercise, our bodies will later tell us by developing different diseases. Likewise, if we are spiritually lazy, our faith will grow weak and we will open ourselves to more temptations and suffer the consequences of sinful decisions. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The answer to this problem is to see how God wants to grow us. This may require discipline that is unpleasant, but we must recognize that it is always for our good because only good gifts come from God (James 1:17). God’s goal for us is to bear the fruit of righteousness. This will result in a life of peace. The quality of life of Christians should be better than the unbelievers around them. This quality of life is measured by peace and not material goods. Peace is better to have than a house full of stuff that only cause envy and strife. Peace is a gift of the Holy Spirit who comes to those who are righteous. God wants us to have this peace and will discipline us to help us grow our faith into righteousness.
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