Shepherding a Child's Heart

A Responsibility
The rod is a responsibility. It is not the parent determining to
punish. It is the parent determining to obey. It is the parent, as God’s
representative, undertaking on God’s behalf what God has called him
to do. He is not on his own errand, but fulfilling God’s.

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A Physical Punishment
The rod is the careful, timely, measured and controlled use of
physical punishment. The rod is never a venting of parental anger. It
is not what the parent does when he is frustrated. It is not a response
to feeling that his child has made things hard for him. It is always
measured and controlled. The parent knows the proper measure of
severity for this particular child at this particular time. The child
knows how many swats are to come.
A Rescue Mission
The rod is a rescue mission. The child who needs a spanking has
become distanced from his parents through disobedience. The
spanking is designed to rescue the child from continuing in his
foolishness. If he continues, his doom is certain. Thus, the parent,
driven by love for the child, must use the rod.
The rod underscores the importance of obeying God. Remember,
the issue is never, “You have failed to obey ME.” The only reason for
a child to obey Mom and Dad is that God commands it. Failure to
obey Mom or Dad is, therefore, failure to obey God. This is the issue.
The child has failed to obey God. The child has failed to do what God
has mandated. To persist places the child at great risk. It is not a
kindness for the parent to ignore the rebellion against God’s authority
that will ultimately bring God’s even greater chastisement.
Distortions of the Rod
Since the rod is an idea that has fallen on hard times in our
culture, we need to clear our minds of some distorted concepts of the
rod. I do not want you to think I am advocating one of the popular
misconceptions of the rod. Here are some things the rod is not: