Pent, look at Proverbs 13, verse 24.
It says, he that spareth his rod hateth his son.
But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Now, that right there says that if you spare the rod,
you spoil the child.
Nope, not what it said.
He said he that spareth his rod hateth his son.
And I've heard people say sometimes, well, I just
love my children too much to spank them.
I just love them too much.
I just can't bring myself to do it because I love them too much.
The Bible says you don't love them enough.
The Bible says if you spare your rod, you hate your son.
If you love him, you'll chasten him.
Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.
You say spanking, that's not love.
You know, that's assault.
Look if you would at chapter 23, where God really spells it out.
Proverbs 23.
And again, I'm not talking about taking your fist
and pummeling your child or assaulting your child.
I'm talking about spanking the padded area of their body
that God provided to receive the correction.
I'm talking about taking the rod of correction
and applying it to the seed of learning.
And spanking your child, loving them.
I'm not talking about injuring your child here.
I'm talking about basically inflicting a punishment.
And we all got spankings when we were kids.
It was painful.
It stings.
It burns.
But you know what?
It gets the message through.
It teaches you to do what's right.
And it makes you grow up and be a godly person.
That's why he said in verse 13 of Proverbs 23,
withhold not correction from the child.
For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shall
deliver his soul from hell.
Now that is just as much a command
as thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill,
thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shall
deliver his soul from hell.
So is spanking your children something that's optional?
God condones it.
No, it's not something that God condones.
It's something that God commands,
something that God demands.
It's something that God says if you don't do it,
you hate your child.
You don't love your children.
If you love them, you'll chasten them betimes.
Betimes means early.
He says don't withhold correction from the child.
If thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Go to Hebrews 12.
There are a lot of scriptures we could turn to.
But I'm just going to the main scriptures on this subject.
There are a lot of scriptures in the Bible on spanking,
a lot of scriptures that explain that if you love your children,
you're going to discipline them and correct them.
For example, while you're turning to Hebrews 12,
it says this, my son despise not the chastening of the Lord,
neither be weary of his correction,
for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth.
Even as a father, the son in whom he delighteth.
The Bible says that the father who loves his children,
he will correct the son in whom he delights.
You say, oh, man, you know, I'm a child
and I get the most spankings of any one of my family.
You're the one in whom they delight.
You may not want to be delighted in that much.
But I'll tell you what, the more you
are disciplined, that just shows that your parents love you.
Because they will correct the one in whom they delight.
You see, if I didn't love my kids,
I'd just stick them in front of the TV.
I'd just give them whatever they want to shut them up.
I heard an expression one time there was a kid throwing
themselves down in the grocery store throwing a fit.
And this is what my old pastor in Sacramento
used to always say.
He'd always say, give him what he wants
or give him what he needs.
You know, basically just shut him up.
Either give him what he wants to shut him up
or give him what he needs.
Well, the parent who doesn't love their child,
they'll just give it what it wants.
Just get out of my hair, get away.
You know, I remember one time when I was a child,
I was babysat.
And you know, the babysitter does not
care as much about your development
and your long-term growth as a person
as much as your parents do, right?
So when the babysitter, you know,
the babysitter's talking on the phone and busy
and doesn't want to do anything to interact with you.
And you're saying, can I have a cookie?
Can I have a cookie?
And the babysitter's like, here, just eat as many cookies
you want, just leave me alone.
You know, and you just go and just feast on cookies.
It's a great day when you're a kid.
But the parent that loves you is going to correct you.
And when you're in sin, when you're doing wrong,
they're not just going to put a cookie in your mouth,
stick you in front of the TV, get you out of their hair.
You know, they care about you enough to want to train you
and teach you and help you to do right and to take the time.
And look, spanking your children is a lot of work.
It takes effort.
It's a lot easier just to yell at them
or just to put them in front of the TV
or just give them a treat or whatever.
You know, spanking them and disciplining them
can be a chore.
It's not something that any parent wants to do
or enjoys doing.
But they know that if they love their children,
they're going to do it.
Look at Hebrews 12.
And I'll go through this quickly.
It says, you've forgotten the exhortation which speaketh
unto you as unto children.
My son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him, for whom the Lord
loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth.
Scourge means whip.
You know, it's like when you're a kid,
your dad would take the belt off and give you a whipping.
It says, if you endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons.
For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers?
Then are ye bastards and not sons.
The Bible is saying, look, if you're not being chastened
by God, you're not even his son.
Because whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
So when you get chastened by God,
and I've seen people who were in sin
have some serious chastening come into their life.
And you know what I heard him say before?
Well, at least I know I'm saved, because God's not
letting me get away with anything.
Well, that's a good sign, man.
That's good to know that God loves you,
and that he cares for you, and he's trying to correct you.
You're his son.
You're his daughter.
He loves you.
He's trying to correct you.