Discipline and teach your son while there is hope, And do not [indulge your anger or resentment by imposing inappropriate punishment nor] desire his  destruction. Proverbs 19:18 Amplified Bible

As believers,  we are directed to discipline and teach our children.

Discipline means “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character”(1).  To teach means “to accustom to some action or attitude <teach students to think for themselves>” or to teach means “to instruct by precept (or canon), example, or experience”(1).

Obviously the teacher of the discipline must have hope or an expectation that the child or student will turn around to live a positive and good life in Christ from the example of the discipline.  If we are an example of indulging our “anger or resentment by imposing inappropriate punishment”(2) we are showing and teaching this behavior to our children when we should not be desiring “his destruction”(2).  We must “know wisdom and instruction to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;”(3).  In order to discipline or teach we must look deeply within our very being to see our own self-example and how our self-example teaches, affects, or influences others.

So “while there is hope”(2) or an expectation for the blessings of God in our children, let us be Christ-like examples for our children, or for us all, of the mind of Christ, His teachings.

(1) Merriam-Webster Dictionary

(2) Proverbs 19:18 Amplified Bible

(3) Proverbs 1:2-3 King James Version