Hebrews 12:5 (HCSB)
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or faint when you are reproved by Him,

Discipline means to chastise, reprove, correct, rebuke and punish a person for their wrongdoings and disobedience. Discipline is also the training of the mind, body and person to instil a measure of consistency in character and attitude.
Discipline is mandatory in every sphere of life to alleviate chaos and depravity and it is even more mandatory in spiritual matters as it is what every believer needs to grow and be established in the Lord.
Like every responsible parent, God the Father disciplines His children to spare them from the eventual pain that comes from consistent and persistent disobedience and wrongdoing.
Proverbs 3:12 tells us a father is meant to discipline his son because he loves him, telling us that parents are supposed to discipline their children according to the pattern modelled by the Lord. A parent, seeing their child constantly do the wrong things, must for the love of that child discipline them to correct the habit, redirect the character, remodel the mindset and re-establish godly patterns.
Sadly, so many equate discipline with punishment but that’s not what the bible concept of spiritual discipline means. Spiritual discipline is godly goal-oriented, a means of developing a person to walk in godliness and righteousness, it is being kept in line and aligned to help one become a genuine believer.
Punishment is what Ephesians 6:4 say a parent must not do, the only negative command in this portion, telling parents to not break their children’s spirit by unreasonable expectations and harsh discipline.
When we go off the rail, spiritual discipline guides us back on track, it’s meant to help us refocus on the Lord.
God’s discipline is an act of love to help those He loves to remain true to their calling. If God doesn’t discipline us due to some misguided notion that He will appear wicked and harsh, then Proverbs 19:18 will be out of place in the bible- “spare the rod and spoil the child”, furthermore, discipline drives away the wrong character becoming spiritual stronghold.
Psalm 94:12 says happy are those whom the Lord disciplines; “happy”, “discipline” are not two words you’ll put together. Only with the Lord does effective disciplining bring about happiness because it sets the wanderer on the right path.
We can sometimes be like Jerusalem in Zephaniah 3:2, who refuses to receive instructions and corrections from even the Lord. We stubbornly refuse the correction that will help us do better, trusting ourselves to do what is right.
Even the church should have a system in place like the circular world for discipline. When things are not done properly, anything and everything goes. According to Titus 3:10, we should have nothing to do with people who persistently sin and refuse correction and discipline, who cause division and disunity, we should, in fact, expel such from the fold until they repent. This again is to set the person on the right track and stop them from negatively influencing others in following their pattern.
If a parent needs to discipline their children for good measures, why can’t God, the one who knows the best discipline us?
Discipline according to Proverbs 12:1 is an opportunity for character growth and development. We all have blind spots when it comes to our characters, only spiritual discipline can reveal and change negativity.
Shalom