DO NOT (PART 11) – PAY NOW OR LATER

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

Proverbs 23:13-14         

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

NOTE: Will be at sea for the next two weeks and may be off the grid. If I can post, I will. If not, I will begin posting again as soon as I get to where I have connectivity.

Last Halloween, my daughter Danielle had a decision to make regarding my oldest grandson Maddox. There had been some ongoing behavioral issues that she had been trying to address with him but it seemed that the actions she had taken to correct had been ineffective. Just before the holiday, Maddox acted up again and Danielle contemplated whether to allow him to participate in trick or treating or not. It was a tough call to make as she knew he really wanted to go but in the end, she decided to keep him home and took his younger siblings, Graham and Hadley, without him. Of course, you know this didn’t go over well with Maddox but it was the right call. Discipline is absolutely critical when you are raising children to be the people they need to be and Danielle’s decision was not made because she loved Maddox less, but rather because she loved him more.

For failing to teach your children that there are negative consequences for negative behavior only sets them up for failure later in life, especially when they become adults and the stakes become a lot greater than missing a Halloween trick or treating venture. At the core of the matter, you can pay now or you will end up paying later.

It’s this concept that is at the heart of the 13th of the 30 Sayings of the Wise found between Proverbs Chapter 22, verse 17 and Chapter 24. Saying 13 reads as follows and is comprised of Proverbs Chapter 23, verses 13 and 14:

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

Now, these verses and similar ones like it in the Bible have become lightning rods in the present day society because there are many who completely reject any kind of physical punishment of children. A lot of material has been published on the subject as people attempt to insert their worldly wisdom over the word of the Lord. But think about it for a moment. Would the Lord allow this to be in the scriptures if it weren’t legitimate and permissible?

I can remember back to my childhood days. I can remember times when I was spanked for non-compliance with my parent’s rules. I can remember my third grade teacher, Mrs. Gibson, smacked me on the shoulder with a ruler because I was talking in class. And I vividly remember a day when my Dad picked me up and threw me a short distance onto the loveseat because I had blatantly disrespected him and my mother when I was a teenager.

Did I grow up to be maladjusted?

No, I grew up to respect the rules and be obedient because those who cared about me were not willing to spare the rod if needed to correct me and the compliance with commandments and regulations served me well in adulthood as I sought to continue growing wiser under the tutelage of my heavenly Father, a heavenly Father who certainly doesn’t spare the rod when He seeks to discipline His children.

It’s true isn’t it?

Any person who is a student of the Bible will see it happen over and over again. The Lord God Almighty has meted out punishment and judgment on people who chose to live in disobedience and disrespect His commandments and statutes since the dawn of creation and He will continue to do so. And one day, the final judgment will come, the day when He sends His Son Jesus back to earth, not as a Savior as in the first time but rather as a Judge who will send those who placed their faith and hope in sin instead of Him into eternal damnation. The others, those who chose to place their full faith and trust in Him, will receive the prized inheritance that came with that choice and be ushered into life eternal.

This is part of what Solomon was getting at when he said that failing to discipline your child could result in their death because a life lived undisciplined will be a life punctuated by sinfulness and an unwillingness to conform with standards of conduct considered right and proper. Righteousness and justice give way to wickedness and wrongs which separate one from Jesus and the salvation He offers. And ultimately, a life lived in sin will be a life under the continued judgment of God the Father who will exact His own penalties to try and correct behavior, not because He loves us less but because He loves us more and wishes that none of us will ever perish forever.

Before I close with this, let me caveat this entire devotion with a caution. Yes, the word of the Lord is advocating punishing your children in discipline when they deserve it. What it is not advocating is abuse of any kind. For the scriptures are clear that the Lord cherishes and loves His children and wants the best for them. You don’t need to look any further than Jesus to see how much the Savior of the world loved children. And so woe be to those who exploit and misrepresent the scriptures by using the verses within as a justification for mistreatment, neglect, and harming children.

With this and in sum, there are three “do not” cautions to take away from this word of the Lord:

“Do not” misuse the word of God and abuse children. The Lord does not advocate abuse.

“Do not” spare the rod when it comes to disciplining your children.

“Do not” forget that we are always under the discipline of the Father who made us and loves us, the One who will never turn from using the rod on any of us if He sees it as a way of helping avoid death and find eternal life with Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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