Things have really changed in our world - in too many ways to enumerate. But our attitude toward the human condition is among the most startling. A Child Evangelism Fellowship chapter out west is in deep trouble because they teach something horrific, inhuman, despicable - at least that is what their critics say. What is their sin? They believe that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Those who are upset cannot imagine that anyone would tell helpless and innocent little children that they are sinful.
When I was a kid it was assumed that children needed to be corrected, to be disciplined. Schools regularly engaged in "corrective" discipline. I can clearly recall my dad's words when I went to school. He told me, "Dave, if you ever get it at school, rest assured you will also get it when you home." My teachers knew that they had my dad's support if they thought I needed correction. I think it is safe to say that this has changed.
Whether or not corporal punishment at school is a good idea is not part of our discussion here. But what is at stake is our view of the human condition. Look what Proverbs 22:15 says about it.
Folly is tangled up in the heart of a youth.The Bible teaches us that we are born in sin and that each of us has a natural, inborn tendency to rebel against God and go our own way. Sin comes naturally to all of us. So does folly. Folly, a fruit of inborn sin, is the tendency we have to make wrong choices. Because our hearts are full of sin, our tendency is to choose what leads to trouble, to catastrophe and to destruction rather than choosing what is right and good, that which leads to the blessing of God.
When you believe that children are basically good and that they will naturally do the right thing, you raise them one way. You are permissive and eschew discipline. When you believe the Bible's version of humanity, you recognize that we have a problem - sin. Young and old. Male or female. Rich or poor. Black, white or any shade in between. We are all sinners and our instinct is to choose what is foolish.
Because of that, Proverbs gives us the solution.
The rod of discipline will drive it away from him.If we have a spiritual problem we need a solution. Here, Solomon identifies that solution as discipline. Of course, in this verse he is talking literally of the loving, firm, consistent discipline that wise parents give their children. In love they determine to correct those flaws that sin and folly have created in the heart.
But there is a greater lesson here for us. I cannot live life by simply doing what I think is right or what I feel like doing. I have a flaw. Though I've been redeemed by Christ, sin is still present in me and my heart will betray me, leading me to choose what is wrong.
My parents are not longer going to discipline me - that ship sailed long ago. But I still need the discipline and correction of God. I need the wisdom and insight, even the rebuke and correction of others who may see sin in my life. God will use his word, the inner ministry of the Holy Spirit, other people and circumstances of life to discipline me like a loving Father - though painful, it is a product of his love for me.
We must not resist God's discipline. Children need to be disciplined by their parents to overcome the natural folly that is born in them. We need God's discipline to resist the effects of sin in our lives today.
Thank you, Father, for loving me enough to correct my sinful folly. May I accept your discipline with joy and humility, not with anger or self-pity.
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