November 12, 2021 – Click here to listen
I read a rather humorous story the other day. A fourth-grader celebrated his birthday on crutches, so he couldn’t carry his birthday cake into school without help. His mother asked his older brother to please carry it in for him. “I could,” he said, “but I’d prefer not to.” Spotting a teaching moment, her husband asked him, “What would Jesus do?” he answered, “Jesus would heal him so he could carry his own cake”.
I pondered had that been one of my children whether or not I would have celebrated his clever answer or threatened him with brute force. I decided that I would probably have had a good laugh and told him that was clever and then told him to get with the program and carry the blasted cake in for his brother or Jesus would need to heal his sore backside from the thrashing I would give him.
Oh, excuse me I forgot corporal punishment isn’t fashionable these days. I’m told I could go to jail for disciplining my own child. Hmmm . . . So I don’t spank my child when he needs it so a correctional officer can do it later. Now that makes a lot of sense.
Having been abused nearly every day as a child by a mean, violent, enraged father, I, more than most, can attest that parents can get their point across without drawing blood or leaving bruises for weeks on end. However, the Bible is unequivocal in stating that discipline is necessary to control children. Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him”.
Many of my kids’ teachers and others remarked on how polite my kids were while growing up. Yes sir, and yes ma’am, were required and there was no arguing when one was told to do something. They simply did it or they faced me. Ugh . . .
My brother told me one time I would have my kids marching to breakfast, and sadly he bragged about allowing his kids to do pretty much as they pleased. Their lives did not turn out as he planned and mine exceeded all expectations. It just goes to show that the Bible and particularly Proverbs is God’s way of raising kids, and the anything-goes society and the pseudo-intellectuals who toss it aside and claim to know a better way have led far too many kids astray to the point of killing each other in the streets. Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Several places in Scripture give specific instructions to parents about how to raise their children. Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” There are several ways parents might provoke their children to anger. Some parents set impossible standards so that a child cannot even envision ever achieving them. Some parents tease, ridicule, or humiliate their children as a means of punishment, which does nothing but provoke them to anger. Hypocrisy provokes children to anger when parents require behavior from children that the parents are not choosing for themselves. To “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” means that parents should train their children the way God trains us. As a Father, God is “slow to anger”, patient, and forgiving and he is consistent. And yes make no mistake about it, God disciplines us when necessary. Shouldn’t we emulate Him as best we know how?
Although our children learn a great deal through direct teaching, they learn much more by watching us. This is why we must be careful in everything we do. The old adage, “little pictures have big eyes and ears” applies here. If one staggers around drunk, swears like a sailor, watches raunchy television shows, refuses to spend time with their family, never goes to church or a Bible study, and in general acts like an idiot, how can they expect their kids to do otherwise even if they beat them until their nose bleeds?
Love your kids, spend time with them, listen to them, but remember they are just children and must be taught. They are the students and you are the teacher – Some have this backwards . . . They are not born with good manners and don’t innately respect authority nor honor their mother and father – They must be taught. The Bible teaches that the Lord will teach and bring great peace to your children so keep them involved in church and Bible study with you.
Isaiah 54:13
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!