Roger Meyer

Chastening—along with related terms such as chastisement, correction, and discipline—is often considered negative and equated with punishment, spanking, being yelled at, having privileges removed, or suffering other penalties. But can chastening actually good for us?

A famine is a shortage of food—an age-old problem that has persisted into the modern era. Did you know that in the last two centuries, tens of millions have died from starvation? And did you know that conditions are ripe for a global famine?

You don’t have to have a degree in economics to recognize inflation. Just go to the grocery store, retail store, gas station, or shop online, and you discover higher prices.

One of our biggest sources of problems is simply our daily interactions with other people. We all have conflicts, especially with certain personality types we find offensive. Most of us would admit that we also sometimes offend others. Why can’t we always just get along?

All human beings are created in God’s image, but we have different strengths and weaknesses, experiences, and perspectives—and therein lies part of the problem.

Very early in life, we graduate from nursing and baby bottles to a “sippy cup,” and then to a regular cup—although many of us adults do use “sippy cups” of hot coffee. But cups, like many other things in the Bible, are used as metaphors or symbols. A cup may be used as a symbol of intoxication and deception. “Pouring out” a cup may symbolize God’s wrath or punishment being meted out. On the positive side, a cup is also used as a symbol of blessings and salvation.