Discipline Today or Disappointment Tomorrow
Evelyn A. Fano
Children are a heritage from the Lord. They are God's gift to every parent. No great reward for parents than to see their children with success in life. One of the ultimate satisfactions of parents like me is to witness my children living a blessed life, a quality of life that most billionaires envy. But what happened is contrary to what I desire for my kids. It's all boils down to the truth in Proverbs 12: 15 "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Even when they are mean and disobedient, my children tend to believe that they need to be pampered and treated as fragile at a young age. I would have thought of letting in those undesirable behaviors because they are still very young. Then the chances are that overemphasizing with them is condoning lousy behavior and raising a stubborn child. Then I came to realize that the earliest is the best time to deal with misbehaving children. The scripture emphasized training a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. This is a responsibility that lies greatly with me as a parent of two kids.
No child is born good; instead, they are born sinful, which is why disciplining him at times or at the earliest possible time is deemed necessary, or else painful consequences will be ignored. The simplest way to deal with stubbornness in a child is the rod and reproof of correction to have wisdom. Correction is done using a rod on the children to control their misbehavior and turn out an obedient child.
A rod in the Bible is a stick or a stalk of bamboo or small limbs of a tree used to discipline the flock and steer away from the sheep from danger towards green pasture. It was administered with a controlled amount of pain associated with disobedience to stop the child from misbehavior. It is meant to be more instructive and not to be abusive. After the punishment, then the instruction comes. It is not enough to use the rod of correction but to give reproof or to talk about why the punishment is given completes the cycle of discipline.
As parents, we should discipline our children by administering physical punishment only in the spirit of love and not out of anger. The ultimate purpose of discipline is to give them wisdom.
The most successful person was subjected to rod and reproof. Long before the laws and policy on child protection evolved, children were more respectful and disciplined in school.
They pay high regard to teachers. Although some policies on safeguarding or protecting the child are essential because they are child-centered, can we tell what breed of children are produced now? So, when is it appropriate to impose child discipline? If we fail to discipline today, we may be too late tomorrow.
The value of now is vital to consider in applying this principle. The scripture emphasizes training a child in a way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The great and perfect time to discipline is today, or else we may be disappointed tomorrow because it would be difficult to correct an adult. If a child is left to himself, the future days of pain and trouble are coming. Hence, to discipline today or disappointment tomorrow? The choice is yours, but the result is inevitable.