Usually, it was for being a smart mouth. Sometimes, it was for being a whiny brat. Occasionally, it was for being disobedient. A few times, it might have just been for being annoying. And one time it was for no reason at all. But the Proverbs tell us that the man who loves his son spanks him, and thereby delivers his soul from hell. My daddy loved me and wanted me to go to heaven, and he proved it to me often.
It's not PC to spank your kids anymore. Government agencies have started stepping in to punish parents who discipline their children, therefore parents are administering less and less spankings, therefore our society's children are running amuck! Personally, I think a good spanking administered with love would solve most if not all of our world's problems.
But love is the key. Lest you think I advocate arbitrary beatings just for beatings sake, let me say again: Love is the key. If people loved their children, they would spank them appropriately. Sometimes a smack on the hand or a pat on the backside is enough to bring a little one into line; but remember they also need you to hold that hand and rub their back to show them that you love them. Sometimes several swats must be landed. But they must never be done in anger. Spanking must be administered with love first, but also with discipline. The child should never think for one moment, in the process of being spanked, that they are not loved.
As the children of God, we (and by we, I really mean I) do from time to time get in trouble with our heavenly Father. Sometimes its for being a smart mouth, or a whiny brat, or disobedient. But never for no reason at all. The Bible says that whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. Just as a father disciplines his own children, the Lord disciplines His children. If I didn't know the chastening of the Lord, I wouldn't know that the Lord loved me.
The discipline is never pleasant, but it is always administered in love, and it is always necessary. The parent who doesn't care what their children do refuse to discipline, and thereby communicate that it doesn't matter what their children do. If there is no discipline, there are no boundaries, and therefore no consequences. But the terrible swift sword is a sword of judgment because we didn't do what we were supposed to do. I think I'd rather undergo discipline now than face the sword later.
When I feel the displeasure and then the discipling of the Lord, I thank Him for His love, because I know then that He still cares about me. He still cares about changing me. He still cares about conforming me to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. If He ever stops discipling me, I'll know I'm a goner.
Proverbs 20:30
Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
as do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
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