July 23, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"The Important Role of Discipline… "
Proverbs 23:13-14
New International Version
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.14 Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
Spare the rod, and spoil the child" goes the adage drawn from biblical proverbs like the one above. By now the degree to which that adage has fallen into disrepute is no secret, even among many believers. Unfortunately, the evil of excessive force belies the time-tested value of corporeal punishment when used with loving restraint. While it is possible to discipline a child without slapping the hand or spanking the bottom, it is hard to deny the close correlation between physical punishment and well-disciplined children. Nor is there any evidence suggesting that adults spanked as children suffer long-term physical or psychological damage from such punishment.
What's important is that, while the stinging bottom is quickly forgotten, the object of the exercise has a long-lasting, character-forming effect. This goes along way toward explaining the play on words between "die" and "death." The first speaks of physical death, the second of spiritual death. Make no mistake, says God, discipline or the lack of it is a matter of life and death. Sparing the rod altogether can result in a soul being destroyed eternally in “the second death." Like parents, churches would do well to remember the crucial role of discipline. The apostle Paul enjoined discipline to snatch the wayward soul from hell. Church discipline needs to be taken far more seriously! No wonder our heavenly Father himself can often be heavy-handed. Sometimes the only way to get our attention is not through our heads but on the other end.
The question for us disobedient children is: Do I truly welcome God's harsh discipline as a means to preserving my eternal soul?
