Obedience

September 14, 2010

BACK TO THE

WOODSHED

Scripture Reading

Proverbs 22:15--"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;

but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."

Proverbs 23:13- 14--"Withhold not correction from the child:

for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell." 

Boys and girls dread hearing one quote.  It's the statement a loving dad makes just before he delivers a good spanking to a child who has done wrong.  The statement goes something like this:  "This is going to hurt me far more than it's going to hurt you."  Most children find that statement hard to believe and are inclined to think if Dad would just forget the whole idea of punishment, he wouldn't get hurt.

That statement is hard to comprehend, I know, until you become a father.  Suddenly, you realize that disciplining a child is painful.  A truly godly parent will discipline not out of pleasure but out of love.  Motivated by love, that parent is willing, if necessary, to bring pain for the purpose of change in the child's life.

Back in the good old days, people commonly talked about going to the woodshed.  When they did so, they referred to a time of discipline, punishment, and correction.  Maybe that's part of the problem in American.  Because of electricity and oil furnaces, most homes no longer have a woodshed.  More seriously, most homes no longer have the proper form of loving discipline to make wrongs right.

A wise parent recognizes the responsibility God has given him to correct his children.  On the other hand, children must acknowledge God's plan and purpose in discipline--to keep them from growing up loving to do wrong.  Discipline isn't easy for a parent or a child, but the result typically prove that when parents administer it properly, it will be for the better.

APPLICATION:  Take time to read Hebrews 12:5-11.  Note the benefits of chastisement when the recipient handles it properly.

--Tom Palmer--