Corporal Punishment
I know this post will be controversial, because some people have decided to reject corporal punishment for children. However, the Bible endorses spanking our children, and says the results are good, not bad.(Proverbs 23:13,14) It is an issue of parenting and whether we trust God's Word or not.
The process of raising children must be comprehensive in scope. The primary focus must be on building a close, loving relationship with the child, so that you understand each other. Then, a parent can raise the child according to his or her personality.(Proverbs 22:6) Then, instruction and affirmation are essential. It is not enough to correct a child for doing wrong. He must be taught what is right in a clear way, and then affirmed for doing right every time. This is an exhausting process that takes a huge amount of time and energy on the part of both parents.
However, since every child is born with a sinful nature, and he or she will decide to sin instead of doing the right thing no matter how much teaching and affirmation they receive, there must be corporal punishment. This is not child abuse. This is love. The purpose of corporate punishment is to eliminate wrong behavior. The flesh will decide to sin, unless it is more painful to sin than the pleasure that comes from the sin. That is why the Lord says to spank our children in a loving way and not in anger. Then, they will listen to the instruction better, so they can figure out how to avoid the pain. After a time of training, they adopt the right actions, instead of the sin.
All of this is secondary to coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Once they become a believer, the Holy Spirit comes to deliver them from the flesh. When we punish them for their sins, it shows them their need of Jesus. It allows the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin even more. Then, they know they need a Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. The goal of parenting is to see our children become mature Christian adults. We must always keep that goal in mind. The worst thing that could happen is for our children to go to hell. We have something to say about that happening. We punish them and teach them to deliver them from that eternal punishment.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 24-27.
The process of raising children must be comprehensive in scope. The primary focus must be on building a close, loving relationship with the child, so that you understand each other. Then, a parent can raise the child according to his or her personality.(Proverbs 22:6) Then, instruction and affirmation are essential. It is not enough to correct a child for doing wrong. He must be taught what is right in a clear way, and then affirmed for doing right every time. This is an exhausting process that takes a huge amount of time and energy on the part of both parents.
However, since every child is born with a sinful nature, and he or she will decide to sin instead of doing the right thing no matter how much teaching and affirmation they receive, there must be corporal punishment. This is not child abuse. This is love. The purpose of corporate punishment is to eliminate wrong behavior. The flesh will decide to sin, unless it is more painful to sin than the pleasure that comes from the sin. That is why the Lord says to spank our children in a loving way and not in anger. Then, they will listen to the instruction better, so they can figure out how to avoid the pain. After a time of training, they adopt the right actions, instead of the sin.
All of this is secondary to coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Once they become a believer, the Holy Spirit comes to deliver them from the flesh. When we punish them for their sins, it shows them their need of Jesus. It allows the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin even more. Then, they know they need a Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. The goal of parenting is to see our children become mature Christian adults. We must always keep that goal in mind. The worst thing that could happen is for our children to go to hell. We have something to say about that happening. We punish them and teach them to deliver them from that eternal punishment.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 24-27.