Thursday, May 9, 2013

Are We Better Off Without God?

Look at our society. Are we better off without God? Murder, rape, incest, pornography, suicide, mass shootings are on the rise. And we think we're better off? Yes, some of these things happened decades ago, before prayer and God were kicked out of school and government, but not on this scale. People believed in decency, honor, and respect. Children were taught to respect their elders even if they disagreed with them. Most of the people of my generation were taught to love and fear their parents. I certainly did and I am a well-balanced, happy adult. Did my parents make mistakes? Of course they did. There is no such thing as a perfect parent and very few people have had idyllic childhoods, but we learned manners, respect, and dignity. We were taught to do everything with all of our might. We were taught to always do and give our best. We were taught to admit when we were wrong, apologize, and keep our moral standards high—at least until the "hippie" generation came along. Those are the parents now who listened to Dr. Spock say that spanking a child, or any form of corporal punishment, would inhibit our children's personalities and make them evil.

Nonsense! Now, I believe in spanking WITH LOVE, and discipline. Discipline teaches. When my children were small and spanking was in order, I made sure they first understood why they were getting a spanking. They needed to acknowledge that what they had done was wrong and why it was wrong. If they didn't understand, we had a conversation to help them understand. This was done patiently. Secondly, they were assured that we loved them. When the tears and crying stopped, we would call the child to us, give them a hug, ask them again if they knew why they received a spanking. If the answer was because they were bad, we had another conversation. It was not that the child was bad; it was the action or behavior that was bad.

Our children are well-adjusted adults (well, our daughter went through some things outside the home that have caused her problems in her adult life, but she is getting a handle on them.) Both of our children tell us we have been great parents and we have a great relationship with them. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 31:28 says, "Her children arise up and call her blessed, and her husband also, and he praises her." This passage, from verses 10 through the end of the chapter, are describing a virtuous woman. Thanks to God and His Word, I am living proof that this is so.

A loving parent will discipline and encourage the children. A wise parent will seek to train the child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We were created to have fellowship with Him, and there is no better, happier life than one lived in love and service to God. He is love. But He can also be grieved. He can get angry. He is to be revered, loved, and feared. We should be just as afraid, if not more so, to incur God's anger as that of our parents, especially since today parents seem to let their offspring get by with anything

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