A Switch Changed My Perspective
A switch? What is a switch? That was a slim tree branch that my mama used to swat my legs and straighten my attitude out when I was a little girl. That swat made a lot of difference in turning my wrongs to rights! Never would I have ever considered my precious mom’s correction as abuse.
I can just hear child psychologists go into a tangent about the wrongs of switches or any other corporal punishment. And, in many cases, they have reason to be proponents against weapons, hands or any other form of child abuse.
Today, the new and improved ways of disciplining our children is giving them time-outs, taking their phone away from them or other “painless”, but effective ways of helping our children understand wrong from right.
Truly loving and caring parents choose ways for their child to think about their mistakes and in turn, ask for forgiveness. The discipline serves as a reminder that the bad behavior just isn’t worth repeating.
And this child (ME) can often use a good time-out given by my Heavenly Father. All of us need a time-out chair in our lives to make some adjustments in some of our attitudes and behaviors. That chair isn’t comfortable….on purpose.
It seems I am in time-out way more than I should be because, by now, I do know right from wrong. But sometimes the wrong thoughts, words, and actions just find a way of causing a good girl act like a naughty girl!
Our good friend and role model for bad AND good attitudes, the Apostle Peter, knew about misbehaving and he knew how to fix it. His is the voice of experience: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He Who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:14-16).
When we sat our kids in time-out, we usually told them to think about what they had done and what they needed to do in the future. It usually did the trick. That wailing, misbehaving three-year-old in the time-out chair, after fifteen minutes, was a different child. That’s the purpose of a spiritual time-out as well. We need to take some time and think about how we can be and do better as God’s beloved children.
Spiritual time-outs take time, but God’s mercy and grace are plentiful as we grow to maturity in Him. When the fifteen minutes are up, we should be wiser and ready to go.
The grace we receive from our Father in time out, is the grace we are to give others. We are ready to live the holy life “our Dad” wants us to live.
Why did God give His children such high standards for our lives? Why did God think we should be, or could be, holy?
Peter answered those questions like this: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
We adore our children so much we discipline them. So does God. Our children learned a lot in time-out – and so do we!
Might I suggest that if you could use an “attitude adjustment”, then head to the time-out chair to let God speak to your heart and straighten you out. We are all on the road to spiritual maturity, and those rest stops come in handy.