Seek Boundaries and Discipline
Now [Adonijah’s] father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “why are you doing that?” 1 Kings 1:6
Bryan Collier
Last year I worked my way through Scripture; as I finished one book I would let my heart and the Holy Spirit lead me to the next book to read. As I finished Matthew’s Gospel and asked God for a leading, it was clear that I was being led to 1 Kings. “1 Kings?” I asked God, “are you sure?” I knew there was that great story about Solomon offering to divide the baby between two quarrelsome women, but other than that, “1 Kings?”
Only six verses in, however, I begin to find plenty of interesting guidance for my circumstances and these truths cropped up twenty-two times in twenty-two chapters.
Adonijah was never disciplined. In fact, as the text points out, he was never questioned. This is dangerous for a child, but the consequences for the adult who was treated this way as a child are devastating. Adonijah moved into a position that was not his and his life was endangered—simply because no one ever told him “no.” He never received discipline or the discipline of boundaries that keep us back from the bottomless pits of self-destruction.
I wonder how many times I assume roles and positions that were not meant for me. For lack of discipline, both “being disciplined” and “acting disciplined,” I end up in places that are not only a danger to me, but endanger others and God’s will for them. Patience, waiting, listening, and seeking need to be a part of any leader’s discernment. The humility to received discipline and the seeking of those who will administer it in our lives is a Divine necessity in any next steps that we would take in furthering God’s Kingdom. Discipline and boundaries are to be sought, not avoided if we are to help someone take Next Steps…or take them ourselves.
