Build a Better Rod

(Pro 23:13 KJV)  Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

I had the conversation again today.  It was a grandparent concerned about an over-active grandchild.  You could hear the pain in her voice.  There wasn’t much I could say.  I would bet dollars to donuts that the parents would reject this verse totally.  

Children need discipline.  Obviously it can be overdone.  There is a level in which it becomes abuse.  The problem with today’s society is that their level of abuse is before it starts.  You don’t want to spank?  Fine.  Find a different type of “rod” (7626).  If you are blessed with a child like our second then you know that a frown can be a rod.  If you have one like our first then you know that for some even the rod isn’t enough.  Strangely enough putting him on a chair seemed to do the trick.  Go figure.

So?  Don’t throw out the standard of discipline because of the word “rod”.  Grab the principle and apply it.  Save a life.