Worldview of Self

I had an interesting conversation with a teenager about discipline a few days back and talked about how kids are discipline through beating and I had a very different perspective.

Needless to say I shocked her about how I was discipline and how I perceived it. Her reason was that as long as there is pain involved, it is abuse and I had a moment of humor and sadness at that very factor of pain. She said that if my job was to help counsel people, I would be the worst person because I am for such punishment. We ended our conversation with her feeling rather upset.

The bible talks about discipline that is not to spare the rod on a child for several reasons, to which is how I was brought up. But I also cannot deny the abuses that has taken place in the name of discipline. But I did mentioned that all of this is a worldview issue.

Worldview plays a huge part of our understanding about life and dictates how we make decisions and value things. It is rather interesting that how I was brought up has in many ways determined my life today. However, being away from home for so many years, I have come to update a few of my perspectives here and there. As an example is that I am not too sure I would use beating(or caning for that matter) as a form of discipline for my own kids in the future, not because it is ineffective but rather in the context of America or wherever I am raising my kids, that it depends on social awareness of the effects of my actions as a parent. In other words, I will discipline my kids in the way that would be consistent with the immediate social perception, so that my act of discipline would not cause confusion in the mind of my child.

What I am getting out of the conversation goes beyond methods of discipline but rather something more that leads to the values that people hold strongly to.

America has been rather too comfortable with entitlement that they forget the realities that comes from different life experiences that are being experienced by someone who has a very different worldview. We all perceive situations in life that is compared to the ideals that we value in this country. We value rights and entitlement, we value comfort, painlessness, convenience and self-conservation.  Just as pain that was received as a child from caning as a form of discipline was rather normal and acceptable to me in many reasons and I see to no problem for a parent to discipline their kids that way but I am also aware that in the midst of my discipline, I was made aware of my mistakes and my rebellion to which also was couples with acts of love. Basically my experiences of painful discipline was always done in consistency of love. Those pain inflicted on me were nothing more than skin bruise that in no way inhibited any form of physical abilities but rather a mental and emotional awareness of my mistakes and loving rebuke. So my worldview tells me this in such that I was accepting to pain and suffering that has led to maturity and respect for the things that I do not fully know as a child. But this worldview cannot be equated by many of the experiences found in America that have proven to be done out of abuse and selfishness.

I found it hard to speak about certain issues and giving my opinion to people who grew up with different perspectives from me because I was raised in a different setting in life. My worldview informs me beyond just to live life for myself but rather to live life for the love of others.,, and that is almost always coupled with hardship.

Having to only generalizing this perception but, the culture of America that is subconsciously in-bedded in the minds of people is very centered around self. The fight for self survival, for self pleasure, for self comfort is still heavily prioritized. Thus, making much of some of the values that I grew up in seem rather primitive and inhibited.

The value of self in 2 Timothy 3 has widely spread in a viral and destructive manner not just in America but to this ever expanding globalization of a world we live in. Although scripture paints a more brutal extreme of self value but the heart of man that displays such character is already taken root.

Christianity has yet to fully understand the persecuted life that Jesus called out for. But many of us are still fighting for the avoidance and it is so evident here in America.