On child discipline

This morning as I meditated on this passage, I notice something very interesting. Here the pattern that I observe:

  1. An admonition to show restraint / withholding self when dining with a ruler (for it is deception; status or delicacies)
  2. To withhold ambition from accumulating wealth (for it will waste time & energy)
  3. To withhold hearty talk before a stingy person (or you will waste your words)
  4. To withhold pouring wisdom before a folly (or he will despise you)
  5. To withhold oppressing the weak (for God is on the side of the weak)
  6. Do not withhold discipline from a child

It seems there are 5 things to withhold self from, yet the only place not to withhold is disciplining a child. And that’s the place where we show restraint most the time.

We don’t withhold / give a second thought when we’re invited by a ruler. We certainly would not waste a chance to eat the food served for the king.

We won’t waste a chance to get richer. It’s something tempting and attractive to get more money & expand our kingdom.

We also won’t withhold our compliments, regardless of the person who’s in front of us. Even to the stingy person, we would still compliment out of courtesy.

We certainly like to share our wisdom, the more so if we thought the other person does not have understanding equal to us.

We like the power and feeling of winning over others. Given a chance, we don’t like to lose and rather we choose to win instead of losing.

Yet, we find it so difficult to bring the discipline to our children. We rationalized and give it so much thought whether we should discipline them at all. And that’s the part that God’s Word speaks so clearly and strongly.

Not only we’re not to withhold the discipline, it’s very much recommended (If you strike him with the rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol – v14) The double repetition stresses how strongly God thinks about it. It assures parents that by doing so, not only the child will not die, but  contrarily the child will live! How much more do we need God tells us?

If we want to be truly humble and learn, we would learn a great wisdom, contrary to the wisdom of the world. For this verse came before the disciplining of children:

Apply your heart to instruction, and your ear to words of knowledge.” (v 12)

Those who chose to hear God, would certainly walk a different way.

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