True Child Abuse

Read Proverbs 23

Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death.

Proverbs 23:13-14

Not so long ago, kids who got out of line got spanked. Parents administered this kind of physical discipline routinely, and most school principals also wielded a “board of education” to teach disobedient children important character lessons. No longer. Spank a kid today, even your own, and you may end up in court . . . or worse.

Obviously, we need to protect kids from child abuse, but is it wise to go to the opposite extreme? Not according to Proverbs. Today’s verse encourages parents to exercise appropriate measures (even physical discipline) to correct defiant children. The goal is not merely outer conformity to a set of rules, but helping kids develop the kind of inner character and moral boundaries that will save them from potentially disastrous choices later in life.

By not correcting inappropriate behavior, we give our children the wrong idea that there are no consequences to wrong choices. Perhaps this is the ultimate child abuse.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Discipline communicates love.

Today, Lord, I am reminded that your truth is often at odds with the prevailing “wisdom” of culture. Give me the courage to do what is right, not just what is popular.