Posted on 11/26/2020 5:22:00 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back” (Proverbs 26:3).
A fool is a person that walks after their own devices. They really don’t know any better. They have a mind, it is true, but it is not exercised to the point where it can discern clearly the costs of misbehaving. A fool is controlled by his wants. By nature, all children are fools in that sense of the word. A child, left to himself, will only grow up to become more foolish as the years pass, and a wicked person is really only an unrestrained fool: “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalms 58:3).
In the animal world, where beasts of burdens outweigh their masters by hundreds of pounds, an unruly beast could easily go its own way in disobedience. A horse obeys its owner through the use of a tiny riding crop applied to its rear haunches and the donkey or an ox will plow a straight furrow because of a small device placed in its mouth. Animals have their own agenda, and if left to themselves, they will spend the day chewing on the grass around it. When it is time for work, these little devices see to it that they follow the bidding of the farmer.
In the case of a young fool, if left to himself, will spend his time in idleness and mischief. They really can’t help it, it is in their nature. As our society progresses (???) one can now see children a young a couple of years old holding I-Phones and game pods, playing the day away. They grow up to sit on a couch all day with a hand-held game device. Our present young generation is losing all perspective when it comes to human relations.
The tool that God has given parents in the daunting challenge of bringing up a child in the way he should go is here called a “rod.” Notice that the Bible does not say “hand,” as a mode of discipline. The hand is for love and comfort. No part of a human’s body should be used to chasten a child. The discipline should always be administered by an inanimate object.
Saying this, however, one reason why corporal punishment is effective is because it involves a degree of physical pain. Pain is something that will be remembered. Simply talking to a fool resolves nothing, because a fool will not listen. If a child is taught to equate wrongdoing with pain, they will remember the lesson. Just a word, not so much.
Both before, and after, corporal punishment is administered both parent and child should pray confessing their faults to God and asking for His forgiveness.
The most important phase of corporal punishment is reconciliation. After the spanking, and after a short time where the child is left to ponder its ways, both must come together again to be reminded that parent loves child and child loves parent.
Years later, a child will recall those painful meetings and thank God that he is what he is today because he had parents that loved him enough to see to it that he was corrected and molded in the way he should go as he contemplates the birth of his own child. This is the way that America remains a Christian nation.
One of the hardest pills to swallow is being a biological parent trying to discipline the YOU out of your child.
Detective Robert Surgenor wrote a book he called, No Fear. For years he has compiled statistics that indicate that when parents eliminate corporal punishment from their discipline plan, the child grows up with an attitude of “no fear,” even when other areas of discipline are administered, such as taking away privileges and grounding. He maintains that children who are spanked in the context of loving discipline don’t become violent. In contrast, some of the most violent youth never once experienced a spanking. Surely this law enforcement officer’s findings are in keeping with the principles of Scripture.
If anyone would like to be added to the ping list, please let me know either by post or by p.m.
For more books on all topics of the Bible, visit my web site at:
Bump.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.