“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Col. 3:20). A similar thought is found in Eph. 6:1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2. Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3. that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” I bet every parent at one time or another wants to take these verses, shove them in front of a child (or children) and force them to read them. Maybe they should have to memorize it along with John 3:16. Of course, we were all children once, and no doubt had to endure a forceful sermon or two dealing with the subject of obedience to parents. I will hazard a guess that it was not too enjoyable at the time. I was not raised in the church, but I imagine I would have “tuned out” for that.
There is no doubt that a lack of obedience is pervasive among the youth today. Not to say we were perfect, because we certainly were not, but things are a little more “out of whack,” for lack of a better term. One of my earliest memories is Mrs. “T” slapping me across the top of my knuckles with the edge of a ruler. To say she took no nonsense is an understatement of epic proportion. In my high school years, I attended an all-boys school, and as you can imagine, discipline was rather easily metered out. If our socks fell to our ankles during a sports game (rugby), we would be caned the following Monday IN FRONT OF THE CLASS. My father also did not hesitate to take a belt to my posterior when it was called for, so I was not a stranger to the pain of punishment growing up.
I don’t say that to unnecessarily advance the cause of corporal punishment, but here is a scripture worth reading. Pro. 13:24, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” As I mentioned earlier, I was not raised in the church, but I think I would be mostly correct in assuming every sermon ever about obedience to parents included this verse. I had a slipper all my children hated. It was faded blue and very old, but it was never thrown out. It was broad, so it was louder rather than painful (although I am sure my kids would disagree), but it was oh-so effective. And honestly, none of them needed it more than a few times growing up. The problem today isn’t the children; the problem is the modern discipline model, or rather the lack thereof.
The Bible does not advocate for beating a child, nor should any sane person, but it is clear that righteous punishment administered without anger is sometimes necessary. The problem is that we are now in the midst of all sorts of woke movements, one of which is never, never punishing a child. Nowadays, smacking a child on the behind could lead to all kinds of problems and may even result in a visit from the authorities. But where has “just quietly explain the deficient behavior in a calm tone gotten us?” We have children who scream at their parents, and some even dare to hit them. The same happens in our schools. Recalcitrant, undisciplined mini-thugs yell and cuss at teachers, and physical violence directed at the educator is not uncommon. You see, the child knows that any type of retaliation by the teacher would almost certainly lead to the latter being punished or even fired.
Far too many parents want to be their child’s best friend or are simply negligent of their duties. Parents are not always liked for their decisions, but one of the lessons their “babies” have to learn is that there are consequences for bad behavior. When your teen thinks of you as a friend, you will almost certainly lose control of their behavior because they will hardly respect your authority. If you are not in control, the devil will be, and all he wants is their destruction. You are their first line of defense, and you are what their moral compass will be designed after. Maybe take note of Eph. 6:4 and do right by your child – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Do that, and they will find Christ, have a moral compass that works and grow up to be honorable, productive members of society that you and they will be proud of.
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