Chastise – To inflict pain upon to punish for the purpose of correcting or reclaiming and recall to duty.
God used this word in its various forms 22 times in Scripture: 19 times to Israel in their Masoretic Text Old Testament; Twice to Israel in their Koine Greek Old Testament (Matthew thru John); and once to Israel’s Little Flock in their tribulation book of Hebrews.
Chastisement by definition consist of 4 required elements; if any single element is absent, it is no longer chastisement. If you inflict something painful simply for punishment, it may simply be retaliation. If you correct with the intent of restoring peace and harmony, without something painful, you are admonishing.
- Painful
- Punishment
- For the purpose of correction
- Intended to reconcile wrong behaviour and restore peace and harmony to a relationship.
Being that chastisement is intended to restore a relationship, it can only be administered in a parent-child relationship to restore peace and harmony in a family, or in a government-people relationship to restore peace and harmony in a community.
The process of discipline is progressive
- Instruct
- Admonish
- Chastise
- Incarcerate, banish, or execute
Chastisement should be progressive and proportional to the offense; never excessive or oppressive, and must never be done in anger, or for retribution, retaliation, or revenge. But it must, by definition, be a painful experience; up to and including corporal punishment: People don’t change until it hurts too much to stay the same.
Chastisement is subjective in that people, including children, are driven by different factors; what is painful to one person may not be of any concern to another.
- The loss of a privilege may greatly impact one person, while it is meaningless to another.
- The confiscation of a personal item may be devastating to one person, while it is meaningless to another.
- Community service, or extra chores, may greatly impact one person, while it is simply inconvenient to another.
- A stern look or harsh words may crush one person, while calculated severe corporal punishment is required for another.
But one thing is certain, raging and threatening are worthless, pointless, and completely ineffective; it is not instructive and never restores peace and harmony in a relationship. While acting in anger is always counterproductive, it almost always constitutes abuse.