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.