Articles
Proverbs To Live By (20:15)
The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
Several proverbs counsel that appropriate punishment be administered to children. Unfortunately, this is a concept that is so emotionally charged and negatively prejudiced that a rational conversation can hardly be had regarding it. Humanistic thinking has decided that all severe punishment is “abuse” and necessarily damaging to children.
Not so, simply because God said it is not so. Does abuse occur? Certainly. But so much of society’s ills concerning young people are more a result of neglect of punishment rather than overdoing it. Parents have been shamed into non-action by arrogant experts who accuse them of cruelty, or they are paralyzed by fear of being reported to the authorities.
Children need to learn about boundaries, respect for authority and consequences for disregarding it because that’s what life is. We are all subject to various entities of authority over us, and if we don’t learn to subordinate our will to them, we are destined to live troubled lives.
