Proverbs 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
This passage of scripture addresses one of the most controversial and sensitive issues in our day as it pertains to the disciplining and correction of children. According to the passage the "Rod" is to be incorporated with the training of the child in order save him or her from the fires of hell, and this stern statement is to be taken at face value, for what it says it means, and nothing else, literally. Children who are brought up in a careless manner, and who are allowed to disobey their parents with impunity, will most likely disregard the word of The Lord, and thus they would unfit themselves for a place amongst the saints in heaven, where only the obedient dwell.
When a command is given by parents to a child, and it is not carried out, the child must be called to account and made to understand that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable, and although the rod need not be used in the first instance, yet there must be some kind of negative consequence associated with disobedience, or else, if the child is petted in his or her sin, they will grow up associating evil with positive consequences, and so the floodgates of outright rebellion to all God-ordained authority will be opened. This condoning, or overlooking of disobedience on the part of the parents is described in the Bible not as love, but as hatred toward the child. Let's read:
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
And if the situation is not arrested in a decisive manner, the child will go on to commit terrible crimes later on in life, with the expectation of good results, a calculation that is not only unrealistic, but is definitely condemned in the word of God. One of the worst things parents can do is to make the negative consequences of doing evil, as pleasant an experience as possible, for this actively destroys the crucial lessons that God would have them learn. Christ came not to forestall the negative consequences of sin, but rather to restore the human family to the favor of God, and although God delights in mercy, yet it is inseparably intertwined with justice, especially as it pertains to to the literal consequences. We observe in the scriptures that Christ came to give us life, and to give it more abundantly, yet we must all prepare for the grave, where most of us are all headed.
The thief on the cross indeed accepted Christ as His Lord and Savior, and was then given the assurance of eternal life when Jesus should return. And while that is all well and good, yet the deliverance from spiritual bondage did not include deliverance from the literal, negative consequences of stealing, for he must die the death just like any other thief who had broken human law. In like manner, when children disobey their parents, the discipline administered should be redemptive in nature, whilst at the same time not removing the negative consequences of any sinful actions taken.
In our day there is a pseudo type of love that is manifested by parents towards disobedient children, in which the child is permitted to disregard instructions given without any adverse consequences, and the laws of the land have also greatly added oil to the fire, by allowing children to call the authorities on parents who are seeking to carry out their God- ordained duties in training their children aright. The results of this course of action can be seen in the many school shootings and mass murders such as Columbine and Sandy Hook, where many innocent kids were gunned down in cold blood. When incidents such as these occur, secular psychologists and consultants are called in to give a detailed analysis of the situation, and long scientific names which the average person does not understand and cannot pronounce, are given as the reasons why they did what they did.
But in most cases, the root cause lies in the faulty training of children by their parents, in which they were allowed to get away with disobedience without negative consequences, and so our chickens are now coming home to roost, and we will indeed reap what we have sown, for when the word of God is held in light esteem, or cast out as being archaic or irrelevant, there the results of a wrong course of action will be seen in crimes that will cause us to shudder. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages all godly parents to take up our duties faithfully, and not be swayed or deluded by the false superficial kind of love that is often paraded by parents and the media alike. Let's read:
Hebrews 11:5 "Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth".... 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!