Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the
Bible.
The Wisdom of God
Verses for the Day:
Proverbs 19:18(KJV):
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 19:18(NIV):
18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.
Thoughts for the Day:
The book of Proverbs gives
excellent advice in regard to raising children. This verse tells us that the sooner
one disciplines his son, the better; as the longer rebellion is allowed to rule a child,
the harder it will be to bring him under control. At some point one can lose hope of
his child ever yielding to correction. That is why it is important to start training and
disciplining a child at an early age. We are warned in this verse also not to allow
the child's crying and pleading to keep us from doing the disciplining. Children will try
to play on a parent's sympathy to escape the punishment; however, if we really love them
we will not allow this to happen.
Proverbs 13:24(NIV): "He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."
Proverbs 23:13-14(NIV):
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not
die.
14 Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.
Discipline of children should begin at an early age,
whenever a child begins to defy the parent. Remember the old saying, "He who
spares the rod, spoils the child." The Bible says that all children have
foolishness in their hearts. The Bible definition of a fool means one who is a
rebel, so this is saying that all children have rebellion in them and when it surfaces, it
is our duty as parents to drive it out of them. We are to do this by punishing them
with a whack on the buttocks with a small reed-like rod. This rod could be a switch from a
fruit tree branch or a willow tree branch or a small wooden spoon. It is not to be a large
heavy rod or anything that would cause permanent physical damage. The purpose of a
spanking is not to cause any lasting bodily harm, but to cause spiritual correction. A
spanking should be swift and cause short lived pain that makes a point. That point
is that the small pain they feel now will prevent them from feeling great pain by the act
they are committing, which could cause them loss of their lives in some cases. (For
instance, if a child tries to run across the street, they could be run over and killed.)
Children who are not properly disciplined, are among
the most miserable of children. Unruly and spoiled children are not the blessings that the
Bible says they should be to parents. When a child is given no boundaries, they feel lost.
If they have been given boundaries, yet those boundaries are not maintained, it causes
great harm to a child, as they will not only be in dangerous territory, they will also
lose respect for authority. This is where we find so many of the children and youth of
today. They are rebels, who not only disrespect authority, but openly defy all authority
figures such as teachers, policemen, clergy, and their own parents. The blame rests upon
the parents of these children, if they have not heeded the advice given in this and other
verses found in Proverbs.
Prayer for
the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you
for allowing me to have children and grandchildren. Lord, help me to be the proper kind of
parent who loves her children enough to discipline them. Forgive me when I have
failed my children. Help me to be patient, loving, and kind in all
disciplinary acts. Lord, I pray for the parents and grandparents of this generation
that they may have wisdom, love and guidance in all of their relationships with
their children and grandchildren. Lord, give our children a submissive heart and
spirit toward authority so that our society can function in peace and order. May we
all have the fear of the Lord in our lives which causes us to respect all authority that
God has ordained. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
