The Rod of Correction

There seems to be plenty of debate today concerning the proper form of discipline that parents should exercise with unruly children.  Most of the support for spanking (at least in the western world) is limited to those who believe in the inerrancy of scripture and is met with hearty disapproval from the scholastic community as well as the government.  Most child psychologists, religious liberals, secularists, and others now oppose spanking.  They have turned to studies that have concluded that even a minor amount off spanking increases the likelihood of children growing up into adults with problems of alcoholism, drug abuse, anxiety and depression. 

One of the more prevalent ideas about spanking is that it teaches children that it is acceptable for the bigger, stronger individual to perpetrate violence on the weaker in order to get their way.  Victims of spankings will in turn act out in violent ways now and in the future, and most likely continue the cycle of violence with their children.  Spanking has been classified as abuse and in many states outlawed.  There appears to be devastating evidence against those who champion spanking with case studies like the 1987 Mauer-Wallerstein study which concluded that “there appears to be a linear association between the frequency of slapping and spanking during childhood and a lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse or dependence and externalizing problems.”  If you are hoping that your children become well adjusted adults, the last thing you would want to practice in your home is spanking.  It appears that Solomon, moved by God, had it wrong.

Why even the Methodist church would agree with the prevailing secular take on the issue.  On 2004-MAY-31 the United Methodist Church’s General Conference passed two anti-spanking resolutions — each by an overwhelming vote. In doing so, they repudiated the teachings of their founder, John Wesley, who believed in the corporal punishment of infants and children was necessary “to break their rebellious wills and save their souls.“  They concluded that: ·        Whereas, corporal punishment models aggressive behavior as a solution to conflict, ·        Whereas, some research has associated corporal punishment with increased aggression in children and adults, increased substance abuse, increased risk of crime and violence, low self-esteem, and chronic depression, ·        Whereas it is difficult to imagine Jesus of Nazareth condoning any action that is intended to hurt children physically or psychologically, ·        Whereas, time outs and deprivation of privileges are as effective as corporal punishment in stopping undesirable behavior, ·        Whereas, the effectiveness of corporal punishment decreases with subsequent use and therefore leads caretakers to hit children more severely, ·        Whereas, children must eventually develop their own conscience and self discipline, which are fostered by a home environment of love, respect and trust,Therefore, be it resolved that the United Methodist Church encourages its members to adopt discipline methods that do not include corporal punishment of their children. And be it further resolved that the United Methodist Church encourages congregations to offer opportunities for dialogue and education on effective discipline of children.

In their last bullet point they state that a home should be an environment of love, respect and trust.  The implication is that in a home where corporal punishment is rendered, these aspects of the relationship between parent and child are destroyed.  A child cannot feel loved or respected and he will distrust his parents if he is ever struck.  Still Proverbs 13:24 boldly asserts “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly”, and “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him” Proverbs 22:15, and again “Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from hell.^” Proverbs 23:13-14.  From the hand of King Solomon whom God had given wisdom and whom the Holy Spirit inspired to write these words, we see a different view.  To hold to the secular and Methodist view, would be, as God states, to hate your son.  It is the exact opposite of what the Methodist bullet point asserts.  Administering the rod of correction to your children is in fact, loving, and as John Wesley rightly quoted it is used “to break their rebellious wills and save their souls.“  Those who refuse to administer the rod, leave their children dangling over the pit of hell where folly, bound up in their hearts has led them.

It is after all, the heart that directs behavior; and discipline should be directed at the heart and not behavior alone.  Ted Tripp writes in his book “Shepherding a Childs Heart”, “bad behavior represents a failure to obey and is, therefore, the occasion for correction—but the focal point of correction is not behavior.  The focal point is the heart of the child that is called to submission to God’s authority.  The goal of correction is not simply to modify behavior, but to bring the child to sweet, harmonious, and humble heart submission to God’s will that he obey Mom and Dad.  The heart is the battleground.  The spanking comes only because it is God’s method of driving foolishness far from your child’s heart.”  To reach the level of the heart, one must use the rod of correction, and bring the child back from the brink that folly and foolishness leads them to.  They are too impressionable to be left exclusively to other forms of discipline, which fails to shake them loose from their sin.  God has instructed that a loving, firm hand will turn them towards Him.    

The experts seem rather convincing on the surface; they have case studies, powerful organizations, the government and the Methodist church on their side.  Yet how much credence should we give to studies that will not even admit to the ultimate cause of all unsavory behavior, namely, the lack of conformity to the revealed will of God, or in other words sin, and man’s rebellious nature?  Their conclusions are defective.  All of their papers, case studies, endorsements, and laws, are in the end nothing but dust, but the word of God, through the writings of Solomon and through the faithfulness of those who believe and obey, will produce a harvest worthy to be called children of God from generation to generation.

Live Earth, Climate in Crisis

Last weekends series of live concerts broadcast on MSNBC and Bravo were meant to increase awareness of the Global Warming crisis and encourage viewers to make changes in their lives to personally help reduce C02 pollution.  Watching the concerts though, one could not help but notice that these demands were coming from a certain political persuasion.  Viewers were encouraged to sign a pledge whose first order of business is quite telling in understanding the agenda, it states, “to demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth”.  The most important thing is not necessarily to make a personal change but to get involved politically, and insist the government acquiesce to our demands.  This appears to certainly be more about politics than saving the earth.   

The current administration has become the whipping boy for those involved in this movement, blaming them for failing to take the necessary action needed to thwart the coming of this global catastrophe.  A Google search will reveal no shortage of criticisms from plenty of sources on the president’s policies on Global warming.  One of the more outrageous blogs written by Jesse Lava and posted at Faithful Democrats.com cites a World Health Organization study that attributes the death of 77,000 people in Asia to the effects of Global Warming.  Amazingly, after citing that George Bush has not kept some promises on reducing carbon emissions he states, “The blood of those 77,000 people a year is therefore on Bush’s hands”.  He does not blame Chinese President Hu Jintao, nor India’s Manmohan Singh who rule ambitious industrial nations within the same hemisphere, but George W. Bush, the president of a country on the other side of the world. 

 

To assume that we know the causes for the temperature increases is arrogant enough but to put a name to the cause is foolishly audacious.  Our planet has always had shifting temperatures, rising and falling at different times in the past and for vastly different reasons than what it is attributed to today.  The fact that there is not a consensus among scientists should elicit some caution in those presuming to know the cause.  Sadly, it hasn’t, stadiums and artists have been booked to tell us all why, and what we can do to cure it.

 

Have we erred in understanding God’s command to have dominion over His creation to the extent that we creatures now threaten His world?  God has said concerning man, “let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Gen 1:26.  God also said “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen 1:28.  Burning fossil fuels for energy seems to be in line with these commands God has given man.  We have taken what God has provided and put it to use for the benefit of all.  One would have to argue that we have perverted the dominion command and are violating what God’s intention is for the handling of these natural resources.  One problem for this position is that burning oil for energy is referenced many times in scripture and is a blessing and has not been legislated against by God. 

 

Another problem for this position deals with the sovereignty of God over His creation.  As 2 Peter 3:5-7 says, “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.  But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same Word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”  The Word is preserving not only the earth but the heavens as well.  God creates the world and He destroys it.  Jesus is the author of the climate on this planet and it definitely is in crisis,” for we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” Romans 8:22.  The problem is not the exhaust of my car but the rebellion of man towards His creator, and until all men bow their knee to their king the creation and all of its inhabitants will suffer.   

 

If Christ by His will has determined to increase the temperature on the planet, then it cannot be thwarted.  No amount of carpooling, concerts, treaties or demolishing of smokestacks will frustrate His desires.  Those who think they understand the comings and goings of the winds and the clouds in the atmosphere are indeed experts in hot air.  Perhaps they can prepare themselves like men and answer some ancient questions.

 “ Where were you when God laid the foundations of the earth?
      Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?
      Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?  To what were its foundations fastened?  Or who laid its cornerstone,  When the morning stars sang together,
      And all the sons of God shouted for joy?  “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
      When it burst forth and issued from the womb;  When God made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band;  When God fixed His limit for it,
      And set bars and doors;  When God said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther,
      And here your proud waves must stop!’ “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,  That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment.  From the wicked their light is withheld,
      And the upraised arm is broken. “Have you entered the springs of the sea?
      Or have you walked in search of the depths?  Have the gates of death been revealed to you?  Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?  Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?  Tell Me, if you know all this.  “ Where is the way to the dwelling of light?  And darkness, where is its place, That you may take it to its territory,
      That you may know the paths to its home? Do you know it, because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is great?  “Have you entered the treasury of snow,  Or have you seen the treasury of hail,  Which God has reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?  By what way is light diffused,
      Or the east wind scattered over the earth?  “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt, To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no man;  To satisfy the desolate waste,
      And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? Has the rain a father?
      Or who has begotten the drops of dew?  From whose womb comes the ice?
      And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like stone,
      And the surface of the deep is frozen “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
      Or loose the belt of Orion?  Can you bring out Mazzaroth^[a] in its season?
      Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?  “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?  Who has put wisdom in the mind?^[b]
      Or who has given understanding to the heart?  Who can number the clouds by wisdom?  Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven?

Before you answer though, let me give you a hint, a godly man a long time ago was questioned by God just like this, his answer to God should be the same as yours, “Behold, I am vile;
      What shall I answer You?
      I clasp my hand over my mouth.”