Love and Discipline

Lately, I have been reading too many news stories about an old man man exhibiting the following behaviors: frequent temper tantrums, angry outbursts and irritability, argumentativeness and defiance, destruction of property, serious rule violations, arguing with adults or refusing to comply with adults’ rules, being resentful or spiteful, often deliberately annoying others or becoming annoyed with others, and often blaming other people for one’s own mistakes or misbehavior.

Interestingly enough, I gathered these behaviors and conduct problems from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1 and from a hospital in Philadelphia2, both of which were focusing on children, of course.

All of this reminded me of a poem by my grandfather-in-law, Pedro Rodríguez Miranda, which some of you might remember from the series of poems that I translated and published back in 2024 and 2025. You can read those poems here.

Here is the translated poem, followed by the original poem in Spanish.

Love and Discipline

If love and discipline
Do not walk together hand in hand,
Love goes to bed late,
While discipline goes to bed early.

This moral binomial,
Joined together like brothers,
Should never be separated
In our daily lives;
One should not stay up late
If the other goes to sleep early.

Parents and grandparents,
Because they are overly indulgent,
Raise spoiled children,
Turning our values upside down.

That we are loving
toward our children,
PERFECT…
But we must teach them
What is right and what is wrong.

If we forget what is right
Because we are loving,
We will shape within our homeland
A defective adult.
El Amor y la Disciplina

Si el amor y la disciplina
No andan juntos de la mano, 
El amor se acuesta tarde,
La disciplina, temprano.

Este binomio moral
Que se junta, como hermanos,
No se debe separar
En el vivir cotidiano;
Que uno no se acueste tarde,
Si el otro duerme temprano.

Los padres y los abuelos
Por ser muy consentidores,
Crían niños malcriados
Trastocando los valores.

Que seamos amorosos
Con nuestros niños,
PERFECTO…
Mas debemos inculcarles
Lo correcto y lo incorrecto.

Si olvidamos lo correcto,
Porque somos amorosos,
Forjamos en nuestra patria
Un adulto defectuoso.

And because this person is apparently a Christian, it is probably good to remember what Paul told the Christians in Corinth. Paul was talking about the permanence of love compared to spiritual gifts and said the following:

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” —NKJV, 1 Corinthians 13:11

So, because of a lack of proper discipline, the child became a defective adult, and we are now paying the consequences.

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/about/about-behavior-or-conduct-problems-in-children.html ↩︎
  2. https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/disruptive-behavior-disorders-children ↩︎

32 thoughts on “Love and Discipline”

  1. Parents and grandparents, Because they are overly indulgent, Raise spoiled children

    I see that in my family with mom’s grand daughter and great grand daughter

    And, I saw a lot of it while teaching in China. The grand ma’s were the worst

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  2. Wonderful message my Dear Friend … Love and discipline really do belong together, and sometimes loving someone means having the courage to teach what is right with both Grace and Truth.

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  3. Your pops wrote such a profound piece, Edward.

    I was discussing Paul’s messages yesterday with a colleague, I am always amazed at how many Christians are selective in the approach and methodology.. and of course, implementation of what Paul espoused.
    Discipline is a huge part of a loving relationship between parent and child.
    Such an insightful poem. Thanks for the share.

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    1. He was definitely a great poet. I agree that, at some point, Christians need to mature and get to the core teachings of Jesus. Babbling and quoting only the agreeable parts of the New Testament isn’t helpful. Some Christians are stuck on basic teachings when Jesus wants much more. You’re very welcome, my friend.

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      1. I got into the convenience of using my phone or tablet for devotionals, and recently,I simply put an end to it.
        Got out the old Bible and learned to sit with it again. Doing research using a concordance and line upon line.. so good for the spirit.
        Always a pleasure, Edward.

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        1. Great method! I started with Bible study booklets, but I found that the storyline was often disconnected. Now I read the Bible sequentially throughout the year, following the story. When I’m stuck, I consult one of my commentaries (Matthew Henry-my favorite, Moody’s and John MacArthur’s).

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  5. The parallel between CDC childhood conduct guidelines and adult public behavior is so sharp! Inculcating right from wrong through both love and discipline—just as Pedro Rodríguez Miranda wrote—is such a timeless moral lesson. Powerful post, Edward!

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  10. Amen, Amen, Amen! A perfect poem for these times, and a reminder that it seems too many parents fail to heed. Love is easy and fun. Discipline is difficult but necessary. I wonder if a certain defective and destructive old man had either when it counted most.
    Thank you for sharing, Edward.

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      1. My kids believed we were the strictest parents of everyone they knew growing up. I didn’t think we were that strict. But we expected our kids to be courteous, do their homework, and a few chores. They were swimmers and didn’t have much down time.

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