By Mary Asujo
Joan, a mother of two, has to drop and pick her two boys to and from school. Being a busy woman, she has a series of meetings and by evening, she is tired and just wants to sleep but the boys are very naughty and in taxis most passengers get irked. They don’t want to share seats with people and keep shoving away children from other schools. Joan is just one of the parents stressed over children and can’t spank them.
Did you know that your own attitude toward discipline that demonstrates whether you love your child or hate him? The reason that sparing your child the rod equals to hatred is because you are doing what is in your interest and not in your child’s. If you are not mindful of another person’s interest, then how can you say you love them? This is typical of you and me as natural parents today and God.
In the book of proverbs 3:11-12 says “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves.”
Why discipline is critical
According to Mercy Naluga who is a mother, the purpose why discipline is paramount is that it is intended to make a child or an individual a better person. Often times, when we want to discipline, in our minds we are thinking of punishment yet it can even be through an instruction.
“Although most parents will fight with giving out instruction to their children that is only part of the discipline of the rod,” Nalugga said.
To show love to your children it will in some instances to acquire improvement you might need punishment at some point.
Mary Arinda a business woman points out that this is the area that is usually not nice but remember that without it according to proverbs you hate your child and not love them. “The other thing that you ought to know is that the rod does not imply that you beat up your child to emphasize discipline,” he adds. Under normal circumstances, you may be successful in impacting discipline and you don’t have to use force.
The plain truth of proverbs 13: 24
What makes this such a challenge is we don’t usually see the rod as the measure of how much we love our children.
If you really take these words to heart, they are sobering as a parent and should cause you to evaluate your attitude toward your children. Even if this makes the list it is usually not at the top. For some, it is not on the list at all because it is difficult to make the connection, especially in the moment.
If we are going to be honest and understand this proverb, then we must acknowledge that God’s love for us is proven by his discipline just as your love for your love.
What is satirical is that we use this same mentality when we try to process how much God loves us. When we think about how much God loves us the first place we usually turn to is the sacrifice Christ made on the cross and rightfully so because this is a demonstration of his love. Usually, because his discipline can be uncomfortable and even painful making it difficult in those moments to associate God’s discipline with his love.