What God Says About Discipline ( Part 2) 4-15-10

As stated before, when God gives us children He also gives us the responsibility to raise them properly. He does not approve of this lackadaisical attitude toward child rearing. We have a duty to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

If you were to ask the parents of the unruly, fit-throwing child, if they love him/her; they would emphatically respond, "Yes, I love my child". When I hear this it makes me cringe, because I know they have a deep misunderstand of the word "love", especially when it comes to raising children. Let's see what God has to say about it...

1. Proverbs 13:24 (NASB-U) He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently. Now this comes directly from the Word of God, so it makes it very difficult to argue with. We either believe His Word or we don't. The Word is says that if we do not discipline our children we don't love them. NO! It says, "If we don't discipline them we hate them".
   
   
2. Proverbs 22:6 (NASB-U) Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. This simply means that even when a child is grown and slipped away from the faith, and not serving God. He or she will never forget the Godly upbringing and standards instilled in them as a child. And I believe when they go through trying times in life and everything else has failed, they will revert back to the foundation on which they were raised.
   
   
3. Proverbs 19:18 (NASB-U) Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death. This literally means that we should discipline our children before their habits are formed and sealed for life. Discipline is in no way advocating abuse, but rather firm discipline. If you fail to discipline your child now, your tenderness and kindness will only bring about more rebellion. It would be better for the child to cry now from punishment that for you both to cry later.
   
   
4. Proverbs 22:15 (NASB-U) Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Yet another scripture telling us the importance of good discipline. Children need discipline just as we needed it growing up. Discipline is what teaches us right from wrong, so without it, everything is okay to say or do in the eyes of a child. The must be taught the meaning of the word "NO".
   
   
5. Proverbs 23:13 (NASB-U) Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. The next verse (14) actually says that our discipline could rescue his soul from hell.
   

We will continue this blog tomorrow.