heart of anger (book quote 4)

From The Heart of Anger, by Lou Priolo, on discipline, training, and correcting...

The Gumnazo Principle [1 Tim. 4:7] maintains that you haven't disciplined a child properly until you have brought him to the point of repentance by requiring him to practice the biblical alternative to sinful behavior.  This would involve not just asking forgiveness for the disrespect, not just identifying the sin by name (two essential steps in biblical discipline); but also by responding with a respectful alternative to the disrespect using the appropriate words, tone of voice, and non-verbal communication.  

Imagine what it would be like trying to teach your son how to tie a double Windsor in his necktie or trying to teach your daughter how to make and roll out a pie crust without the Gumnazo Principle.  At some point, unless you have unlimited time and resources, you would have to stop the process of verbal instruction and show your child how to correct a mistake.  If the gumnazo principle is vital for teaching such relatively simple and temporal tasks, how much more is it necessary for teaching the application of eternal truth and the development of Christ-like character.

... biblical discipline involves correcting wrong behavior by practicing right behavior, with the right attitude, for the right reason, until the right behavior becomes habitual (p. 65-66, emphases mine).