(Prov 23:13,14 GNB) Don’t hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won’t kill them. As a matter of fact, it may save their lives.
This morning we continue our series, “Unlocking the Power of Proverbs – Walking in the Wisdom of God.” This is the 13th Saying: an Admonition on Discipline of Children. This has been a reoccurring theme in Solomon’s writings. The Bible is chock-full of divine counsel for all areas and aspects of life and I am Godly thankful that the Father did not leave out counsel for parents. Parenting is no small task. Our heavenly Father entrusts us with the lives of our children. We are to love, nourish, protect, care for, teach, instruct, train, rear, and yes… discipline them. To do all these things, while seeking God about your children’s God-given assignment in life – so that you can prepare them for what God wants them to do, not what you want them to do – is a full-time job. And if all we ever focus on is their pleasure (making them happy), then we might fail to prepare them for their purpose; which at the end of the day is the most important thing.
This brings me back to our passage this morning. To be clear, Solomon was not advocating child abuse. Another translation of this verse says, “He will not die.” This does not mean that we should beat out children to the point of death. While there are some sick people in the world, who get some sort of twisted satisfaction from abusing a child, that could not be further from what Solomon is teaching us. The point here is that children are foolish and they will do foolish things. In the last chapter Solomon said, “Children just naturally do silly, careless things, but a good spanking will teach them how to behave” (22:15). You want to correct the foolishness while your children are still children, because foolish children who are not corrected grow up to be foolish adults and the consequences, at the adult stage, are much more severe. In chapter 13 Solomon said, “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them” (v.24). That’s strong language, but the Bible does not pull any punches here. If we love our children we must correct them when they are going astray. And we cannot wait until it’s too late either.
Here’s the bottom line: our Heavenly Father parents us (spiritually) and He expects us to parent our children spiritual and naturally. While parenting can be very rewarding, because you have been entrusted with the well-being and developmental responsibilities of other human beings, it can also be a time consuming, emotion stirring, and heart draining experience. But we, as Godly parents, we must parent, no matter the cost in time, energy, and effort. Dr. Mark Hanby said, “A Father must do more than just have children. He raises his children to become mature adults. It is a painful, costly, time consuming, life draining, “stay up all hours of the night” type of relationship. It is not always a joyful experience for the Father or the Son. The cost is everything a Father has within him. The benefit is a son who will honor his Father.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. If you love your children you will correct them; a failure to correct is a failure to love.
2. If you parent your children God’s way, then you will correct them while they are still teachable and impressionable.
3. The pain inflicted through discipline is nothing compared to the pain both you and your children will experience later in life if you fail to discipline them now.
Closing Confession: Father, thank You for giving me the wisdom and insight to provide my children the training, correction, and discipline they need to develop into the men and women You have called them to be. I love my children JUST they way they are, but I also love them too much to leave them without correction. I declare, by faith, that you give me creative ways to reach my children, so that they can understand right from wrong, so that they prepared them for their life’s assignment, and so that I am able to stand before You with clean hands. I will not neglect my part in their development! I will parent my children, no matter the cost! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
