“What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” 1 Corinthians 4:21

Take a Hint

Walk His Way Revisited
First Posted in June, 2014

In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul admonished the church in Corinth for their smug and arrogant attitude. He spent the whole first part of his letter telling them why their hearts were wrong about the Christian faith and how to live godly lives. He warned them in this letter, hoping that when he was able to actually come for a visit, he would find a very different attitude among them. In today’s Scripture, Paul says they can either take his hint or warning, which is offered in love and a spirit of gentleness, or they can take the rod of discipline.

How often we wish this for our own children! We teach, we warn, we remind, we give 2nd and 3rd chances… and yet before we know it, they have done the very thing we told them not to do, and we must discipline them.

Paul considered himself the father of the church at Corinth. Listen to his heart: “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:14-15). As a father, he could speak tenderly into their lives, hoping that they would take the hint.

And doesn’t our heavenly Father do the same with us? He speaks gently to us in His Word, telling us everything we need to know, urging us on the right path, and giving us the Helper to be sure we have what we need in order to obey. But invariably, one of His beloveds goes out of bounds into dangerous territory. He calls the wayward one back to Himself. If there is no response, He warns, and if necessary, He brings the rod of correction. To hurt the beloved? No, never; it is only to bring the necessary correction so that life can be lived on the right path.

I don’t know what “rod” Paul would have used in church discipline. I do know that he preferred that the church would take the hint and self-correct before he arrived, so that he could come in love and a spirit of gentleness.

Psalm 32:8-9 paints a vivid picture of the difference between being teachable and hard-headed. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.” We have a choice: to be led by merely looking at the Lord’s eyes to see which way He wants us to go, or to be harnessed and forced.

Holy Spirit, lead me in the way I should go. May I obey You the first time, and not need remedial correction and discipline because of hard-headedness or, worse, hard-heartedness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.