The Rod of Discipline

 I hope we have all noticed that we need to read God's Word thoughtfully, noticing exactly what the words mean. We must not make the Bible what we want it to mean, or how we have always understood it. The Lord might be ready to show us something new, but we will miss it, unless we read closely. That is especially true in the proverbs of Solomon. Each word carries a lot of meaning for us, because it was written to show us God's wisdom for our lives. One verse stuck out to me as I read it this time. (Proverbs 22:15) The temptation was there to read this familiar verse quickly, and jump to the conclusion that it was talking about spanking our children to drive out the foolishness that is bound in their hearts. If we allow that to happen, we will miss a key element to helping our children. Let me explain.

The word "foolishness" means folly or impiety. It shows us that the nature of a child from the beginning is to do things that are fun or funny, but they are not meaningful. Folly leads us to waste our time and energy doing worthless things. This word also means impiety, which is not doing the things that make us right with God. In fact, it means to be disrespectful to God. Since foolishness is bound up tightly in a child's inner being, the rod of discipline must be used well to get rid of it. Notice, it doesn't say the rod of punishment, but discipline. Yes, discipline involves chastising us for our sins, but it also involves discipline or instruction. Remember, it is never enough just to punish a child for doing wrong. We must teach them the right thing , while their hearts are open. That is the rod of discipline. It leads us from sin and leads us to righteousness. That is the only way to get rid of foolishness, so that is what God does to all of us all of the time. Let's never forget this truth for our children, our grandchildren, and for ourselves.

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 23-25.