Despise not the chastening of the LORD, For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth.

 

29. Despise not the chastening of The LORD, For whom The LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth in: The Lord sends us tests that can appear like The Lord is chastening us, or disciplining us, but this is not a bad thing. The Lord lovest who He correcteth and He correcteth those whom He wishes to strengthen their spirit and draw them closer to His glorious kingdom.  Revelations: 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in my throne.”

 BABI RELIGION: “Let nothing cause thee to be sore shaken, neither let the things which have been destined to take place in this Cause disturb thee. Strive earnestly for the sake of God and walk in the path of righteousness. Shouldst thou encounter the unbelievers (or trouble), place thy whole trust in God, thy Lord, saying, Sufficient is God unto me in the kingdoms of both this world and the next.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 160)

 JUDAISM: Deuteronomy: 8:5 “Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so The LORD thy God chasteneth thee.” Proverbs: 3:11 “My son, despise not the chastening of The LORD; neither be weary of His correction:”  Proverbs: 3:12 “For whom The LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”  CHRISTIANITY: Hebrews: 12:6 “For whom The Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” Hebrews: 12:7 “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” Hebrews: 12:8 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Hebrews: 12:9 “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto The Father of spirits, and live?” Hebrews 12:10 “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.”

 BABI RELIGION: “O my God! Wholly have I fled unto Thy face and have cast myself before Thee and no power have I over aught in Thy holy presence. Shouldst Thou chastise me with Thy might, Thou wouldst assuredly be just in Thy decree; and wert Thou to bestow every goodly gift on me, Thou wouldst indeed be most generous and bountiful. Verily Thou art independent of all the peoples of the world.”

 “I have sought reunion with Thee, O my Master, yet have I failed to attain thereto save through the knowledge of detachment from aught save Thee. I have yearned for Thy love, but failed to find it except in renouncing everything other than Thyself. I have been eager to worship Thee, yet have I failed to achieve Thy adoration, except by loving those who cherish Thy love. No one do I recognize, O my God, except Thee. Thou art incomparable and hast no partner. Thou alone knowest our shortcomings and none other hath this knowledge. I beg Thy forgiveness for whatever doth displease Thee.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 201)

 ISLAM: “He whom thou hast not punished when a child Will not prosper when he becomes a man. While a stick is green, thou canst bend it as thou listest. When it is dry, fire alone can make it straight.”

(Islamic Miscellaneous, Gulistan of Sa’di (Edwin Arnold tr))

 155. “Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.” 156. “Who say, when afflicted with calamity: ‘To Allah (God) we belong, and to Him is our return.’ 157. “They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.” As a father chasten a dear son or daughter.

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah   2)

 ZOROASTRIANISM: “Mazda (God) as the upholder of moral order, is sure to give His support to Zarathushtra and to punish his enemies. The punishment would, however, be for their own good, to lead them to the path of rectitude. Why should God, who is all kindness, inflict punishment on anybody unless it is for his good.” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan p. 832)

 Denkard. Zoroaster, “The father should encourage his children to receive such education as would fit them later to perform their duties. Therefore is the benefit derived by His (Ahura’s) own creatures even from undergoing the test (of virtue).” Ahura chastises His children for their own benefits.

 HINDUISM: 164. “Let him, when angry, not raise a stick against another man, nor strike (anybody) except a son or a pupil; those two he may beat in order to correct them.” “In sight of Brahma (God)……There is no purifier like thereto In all this world, and he who seeketh it Shall find it- being grown perfect- in himself,” through the correction of Brahma.

(Hindu, Laws of Manu and Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr) chapter 4)

 BUDDHISM: “Teaching is not the mere play of blind chance, but has an existence that is dependent upon conditions; and that, precisely with the removal of these conditions, those things that have arisen in dependence upon them-thus…… perforce disappear and cease to be.” “Let one (as with Brahma/God) admonish; let one teach; let one forbid the wrong; and one will be loved by the good and hated by the bad.”

(The Eightfold Path and Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 2 (tr. J. Richards))

 “Among all the Buddhas there is a sameness of Buddha-nature, there is no distinction among them except as they manifest various transformations according to the different dispositions of beings who are to be disciplined and emancipated by various means.” “They all knew how to apply the various means, teachings and disciplinary measures according to the various mentalities and behaviors of beings;” Correction is then to be applied as a father to his son as with the correction of Brahma to a devotee. (Buddha, Lankavatara Sutra)

 SABEANISM: “Great First Word, (Haiyi/God) which assured me sight in mine eyes, pour wisdom into my heart! Open the eyes of my understanding!” “The good will see and will be found ready, (But) The wicked will be discomfited, chastised by Manda-d-Hiia (The Savior God).” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapters 76 and 171)

 BABI RELIGION: “The Báb revealed His Bayan, proclaimed a new code of religious law, and by precept and example instituted a profound moral and spiritual reform.” “Live a moral life,” “the acquisition of moral qualities and the exercise of spiritual influence through human perfections, through qualities that are excellent and pleasing, and spiritual behavior,” “abound throughout his writings.” (Peter Smith, The Babi & Baha’i Religions, pp. 79, 83 and 87) “God, the All-Merciful, desiring not to afflict you with His punishment, has willed to reveal to your eyes the Truth. By His Divine interposition, He has instilled into your heart the love of His chosen One, and caused you to recognize the unconquerable power of His Faith.”

The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 247)

BAHA’I FAITH: “We school you with the rod of wisdom and laws, like unto the father who educateth his son, and this for naught but the protection of your own selves and the elevation of your stations. By My life, were ye to discover what We have desired for you in revealing Our holy laws, ye would offer up your very souls for this sacred, this mighty, and most exalted Faith.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 35)

“When-so-ever a mother seeth that her child hath done well, let her praise and applaud him and cheer his heart; and if the slightest undesirable trait should manifest itself, let her counsel the child and punish him, and use means based on reason, even a slight verbal chastisement should this be necessary. It is not, however, permissible to strike a child, or vilify him, for the child’s character will be totally perverted if he be subjected to blows or verbal abuse.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 125)

“God — does not only punish the wrongdoings of His children. He (also) chastises (them), because He is just, and He chastens (them) because He loves (them). Having chastened them, He cannot, in His great mercy, leave them to their fate. Indeed, by the very act of (His) chastening them He prepares them for the mission for which He has created them. ‘My calamity is My providence,’ He, by the mouth of Bahá’u’lláh, has assured them, ‘outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy.”’ So, God, by the very act of chastising and correcting His children, is turning that which appears to be evil into something that is good for us in the long run.

(Bahá’í Faith,  Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p. 115)

You will notice that the way we deal with children and discipline has changed with the coming of The Bahá’í Faith, which is due to our growth spiritually. We, as a race, need to grow beyond the ways of the barbarous horde of undisciplined brutes and this is why Bahá’u’lláh came to this earth, to educate us.