“If you want to discipline kids, you actually have to make them our disciples. And disciples are not someone that’s afraid of you. A disciple is someone who loves you and who WANTS to belong to you and follow you. So discipline is the very opposite of punishment.”
-Dr. Gabor Maté
I like this quote, but it misses a challenging truth we must face with this approach.
Individuals become disciples through their choices. Parents have to be brave enough to love their children while respecting the possibility that they can choose to turn against them, even for proper or good reasons. Judas turned on Jesus, the greatest and most loving teacher in history.
That does reveal a bright spot though: Have 12 kids and maybe only one will betray you (with some doubting and denying thrown in).
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason