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Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge.

Don't withhold discipline from a youth; 
if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.

Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his life from Sheol.
Proverbs 23:12-14 CSB
This is the third part of this proverb that starts with us applying God's word in our lives, living it out, then not living in fear of a young person's response to boundaries, and finally the reassurance that when we apply God's word, live it out, that we may well save someones life. 
Paul in 2 Tim 3:14-15, and in 1 Cor 13:4-7 gives us some more clues.
However you read this proverb, it's not a weapon to get what I want. The motivation for discipline is not to make my life easier, but to save the other person. 
The way I read a proverb may well betray my own heart, a heart that I want God's discipline and words of knowledge to shape to be more like Jesus.
Proverbs gives us something to chew on.
#proverbs
#wisdom
#somethingtochewon
#itsaheartthing


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