Wisdom or disgrace

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

WISDOM OR DISGRACE

Prov 29:15

15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

We find it most interesting many of our scholars of old put all the blame upon the mother for being weak and the one who spoils the child thus producing a self-indulgent offspring which disgraces her. There is much truth in the child left to grow without any correction becoming a self-indulgent adult. A disciplined life is not the result of growing up without correction. But the parent given this responsibility is not the mother, but rather the father. 

1 Tim 3:12-13

12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

NIV

Although these are instructions Paul gives to Timothy regarding the leadership of the church, they also speak to every family structure. Prior to these instructions for deacons, he gives the instructions for the shepherd or pastor and they include:

1 Tim 3:3-4

 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

NIV

It is not the mother who carries this burden of making sure the children in the family are reared properly. God holds the father accountable for his family. It may well be the father might delegate certain areas of rearing the children to the mother, but ultimately it is his responsibility to make sure the children are corrected and respectful, growing up so not to bring any shame on their mother. This by no means implies the father should not love his children. We only need to see how much our Father loves us, yet corrects us as well. Have we lost this principle in our modern families? Have we fathers abdicated our position in the family? It would be a shame for men to fail to live up to their God-ordained responsibilities. We need only see God the Father as our example. Regardless of the feminist viewpoint that God is also a mother, or has no gender at all, which neither have no scriptural basis, God is the Father. Jesus refers to him as Father over and over again. The Greek word is Pater which means father, not parent, not mother. It is also true that in our modern families we have some who lack a father. Surely the mother must step up and correct her children for that is the wise thing to do. No child should be left to grow without correction no matter the family structure. It is also true many older parents no longer have small children to rear, having them already grown adults, married with their own children. But the point is we must have families who do not leave their children to grow without discipline. Doing so will be the downfall of that society. The family needs wisdom or it will experience disgrace.