Friday, September 5, 2014

SPANKING IS NOT ABUSE


Proverbs 13:24           Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.


A boy once made headlines as the result of his repeated acts of vandalism in his neighborhood. Even though he came from a well-to-do family, he was, by every indication of behavior, a perfect example of a “juvenile delinquent.”

A reporter quizzed the boy in detention, asking, “Why do you feel the need to destroy property? Are you angry?” The boy just shrugged his shoulders and turned away. The reporter persisted, “Weren’t you afraid of getting a licking from your parents?”

At this the boy looked at the reporter, and said, “I’ve never had a licking in my life.” The tone of his voice, however, was not one of anger, but of sadness. The reporter talked with him further and realized that “not having a licking” meant to this young boy that his parents didn’t care one whit about him. The young man concluded the interview by declaring that if the police turned him loose, he would continue to take out his vengeance on the neighborhood until one or the other of his folks cared enough to stop him.

Spanking is not abuse. Abuse is rooted in a parent’s uncontrolled expression of power. Spanking is a form of discipline intended to restrain and redirect a child’s uncontrolled expression of their power. Abuse never has a place. Spanking sometimes does.

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