Benefits of Chastisement
Deuteronomy 11:2
"And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,"
A person would rarely think that chastisement could be a blessing. The word "chastisement" means, to rebuke or reprimand severely. Chastisement normally brings thoughts of bad connotations. It normally brings thoughts of some time in your life when someone chastised you for something you did.
However, God shows us that chastisement is not a bad thing. In fact, when you look at the verse above, you realize that God chastises those who have a relationship with Him. You must understand that there is a difference between chastisement and judgement. A person who has no relationship with God will never receive chastisement, they will only see the judgement of God. On the other hand, a person who has a relationship with God can be chastised and judged, but God's first action is always chastisement. You find that there are benefits to God's chastisement.
First, God's chastisement allows you to see His greatness. In other words, God chastises you when you place something or someone above Him. One of the purposes of chastisement is to get you to keep a right perspective of yourself, others and God. God should always be the greatest in your life, and any time you lower your estimation of God, He must chastise you so that you can see His greatness.
Second, God's chastisement allows you to see His mighty hand. Why would a person lose a proper estimation of God? Because they forgot how mighty He is. Unfortunately, God must constantly remind us of His might so that we don't lose proper perspective. When you forget how mighty God is, then He must chastise you so that you don't hurt yourself.
Third, God's chastisement allow you to see His mercy. There are times when God's chastisement comes after we know we have done wrong. It is in these times when God chastises us to remind us that He still wants to keep a relationship with us. His chastisement is more to help us remember His mercy than it is to correct us. The reason being is because when we know we have done wrong, we have probably already corrected ourselves to the point that we will wonder if God still wants us. So, God must bring us in for chastisement for the sole purpose to remind us of His mercy.
What a wonderful reminder of how to act when we chastise those whom we lead. Whether you are a parent, pastor, boss, management or leader in a church ministry, you should use chastisement for the sole purpose of bringing a person back to where they should be so that you can continue having a good relationship. The purpose of chastisement should not be to hurt, but it should be to keep a good working relationship with that person.
If you are the beneficiary of chastisement from authority, don't take it as a personal attack. Realize that authority must chastise you at times when you do wrong so that your relationship can continue. Don't let chastisement seem evil to you, but take it as a sign from authority that they love you and want the best for you. Your perspective of chastisement will determine how you take it. So, keep the proper perspective so that you don't become bitter, because the next step after chastisement is judgement. Allow chastisement to build your relationship with authority, so that you can live a productive and happy life.