RESULTS ARE “PROOF OF THE PUDDING”
About fifty years ago Dr. Benjamin Spock became famous for his approach to child rearing. The premise was to let them have their way. Never spank a child, just reason with them. Psychologists put guilt trips on parents for all their children’s problems.
The results became undisciplined children. I have witnessed children slap their parents and all the parent would say was “Honey, please do not do that” and there was no punishment for that behavior. In short, the child ruled the parent.
In school if a child misbehaved and the teacher called the parent for a meeting, the teacher became the culprit, and the child became the victor. Should the child run into trouble with the law, the law became the culprit, and the child was just “being themselves”.
Make no mistake my generation tested our parents, had trouble in school and ran into trouble with the law. However, we quickly became aware that there were consequences for our actions, and it curbed our actions when we became aware that those consequences could be severe. The punishment for a constantly rebellious child in the Old Testament was severe. (Deuteronomy 21:18-21) “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” I don’t know if that was ever practical, but I know verses like this put the discipline of a child squarely in the hands of the parents. (Proverbs 22:6) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Reaping What Was Sown
The situation in our world is, in my opinion, a direct result of the “no discipline” attitude. A person who has never been disciplined does not understand why anyone should be disciplined. Some of these have risen to places of authority and are now making the rules.
We are experiencing the result of that today. The police are the bad people. Criminals do not need to be in prison. People who riot are just expressing frustration with the inequity in society. Stealing is okay. Go ahead and loot a store. There will be no punishment. Some prosecutors never prosecute. Some advocate doing away with prisons. We drift into the abyss of anarchy and find no stopping place.
What We Have Lost
Peace – unrest is everywhere
Truth – We cannot decide how many sexes there are, nor who and when that is determined.
Joy – Many things make us happy but few have real joy.
Jesus promises us Peace. The Bible gives us Truth. The Holy Spirit gives us joy. John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 17:13 “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
