The Rod

This morning I feel so grateful. God is so good. I just want to praise Him all day long! The Lord has also laid upon my heart Kanoe. I should call or send her an email to see how she is doing.

Proverbs 22:¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Proverbs 23:¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
¹⁴If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.

Since the first sin in the Garden of Eden, all mankind have been born into sin. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child because of our flesh's tendencies and generation upon generation of sin. The only way to avoid our tendency to choose folly is to learn and apply discipline. When children learn discipline, it drives their natural tendency to choose foolish things far from them. The Bible endorses the rod, which means spanking to me. In fact, Solomon says that the rod of discipline will save a child's soul.

We'd like to think children tend to be good and there are only a few "bad" ones that really need spankings. I can't imagine how I'm going to spank Lion when he makes foolish choices, but somehow, I do need to do it if it'll save his soul. Learning discipline is healthy. If I had learned discipline at a younger age, I might not have made all the mistakes I did later on. I know God doesn't want us to beat our children, but He does want us to discipline them. I need to remember that Lion's tendency is to do folly and that I am doing him a favor by not allowing him to continue in that way. This scripture also applies to me in that I need to know that God will discipline me to save me from folly. I am not the "good" person that people so often like to label themselves as. I am a descendant of Adam and Eve, I am born into sin. It is only by the blood of Jesus that I am made righteous before God. I must welcome God's discipline because it is making me more Christ-like. Also, it'll teach me how to be the parent God intended me to be.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your discipline. Pain cannot be avoided in this fallen world, but I thank You that You save us from death. I thank You for Your rod. I choose to rejoice in the moments of discipline because it means that folly is being driven from me. Lord, please help me to be the parent You desire me to be. I know that Lion is too young right now to understand discipline, but when the time comes for me to discipline, please give me the wisdom and strength to follow through with it. Forgive me for my sin and lead me in Your everlasting way. I love You. In Jesus Christ's name I pray, Amen.