Integrity- People of God

Culture will usually dictate and set the norm for which we are educated and trained to interact within society.  It is the culture of a society that sets the values and philosophy for which a nation or people will live and govern their behavior. In many eastern cultures they still teach the spiritual principles of honoring parents and elders, while many western cultures have lost sight of the important of honoring parents. They no longertrain children in a manner that respects their parents, the elderly and those in authority. Honoring parents is the first commandment that gives us a promise of long life. 

Ephesians 6:2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. NKJV

When we fail to correct our children when they are young we see the impact in the amount of violence and death in the western societies as opposed to those in the eastern cultures.  It was reported that, older teenagers living in America face a high risk of becoming homicide victims while Asia reported the lowest rate of homicides. (www.unodc.org) 

Something is profoundly amiss and wrong in the education and training of our young people in the western culture where they do not value life or have respect for authority. It was reported that high homicide rates are linked to lack of education and poverty and both speak to a fallen world system that values money and possessions more than human life and the eternal soul. 

The training and education of our children must start in the home using the Bible which is Creator’s manual to train and instruct. Only the Creator of mankind, who are triune beings, body, soul and spirit, can truly know and understand all the complexities of humanity. To neglect any part of a person can lead to their destruction. 

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

We are all born in a fallen world full of sin and it is our natural tendency to sin, hate and destroy. No one is born with the ability to live life successfully without instruction. A child must be taught how to walk, how to talk and how to navigate life in the society and culture in which they are living.  The enemy has set up systems and lies to prevent the discipline and correction of children that will only cause death and destruction to those created in God’s image. 

We see trends, values and laws being put into place that go against God’s truth and instruction.  Children are born with foolishness and we are to train them in the way they should go. Some parents are confused as to how to correct and direct their children because of what they are told by society and its rules. But their failure to correct their children at a young age will often time end with the government or the penal system correcting and disciplining them as adults. This is a system that the enemy has set up to use against God’s cherished creation whose purpose is to reflect His glory.  

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go,And when he is old he will not depart from it.

There is a philosophy of training children that says there should be no discipline nor should a child be told what they cannot do because they are individuals with their own choices. This is a ploy and a strategy of the enemy to kill, steal and destroy young people before they can truly understand the consequences of their choices. Some societies have safety nets that will help protect their children when they fall or falter and they may have the finances or connections to aid them but it is a privilege that not everyone has. 

Some parents are more concerned about their own comfort and desire to have a cozy relationship with their children, ratherthan to be the parent who is responsible for them and their future. The “no discipline” viewpoint alleviates the parents of their responsibility of instructing and correcting their children. There are also young parents who do not know how to parent. Some people would rather not go through the hassle of correcting their children because it is work and it takes effortand they become more concern about themselves and their comfort than their children.  

There are always extremes to every rule and we have seen or heard the horrors of child abuse and neglect as well as those who do not discipline at all with a child that is out of control. Both are of the enemy and are uses against those created in God’s image to have them afraid to correct their children properly. This fallen world would have us to give up and allow our children to live without instruct so that they are headed for ruin or destruction. 

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

God is a God of order, judgement and authority and this is why He has given us His word to guide and instruct us on how we are to live. God is a good Father and He disciplines and corrects His children, those He love. He has given us the Holy Spirit as a Teacher and Counselor and we can ask the Holy Spirit for direction and guidance. 

Hebrews 12:5- 6 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

The rod of correction should be the word of God, it does not have to always be of a physical nature but the word of God can give instruction and correction where needed.  The person who do not discipline his child, the Bible says he hates his child.

Proverbs 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

Hebrews 12:7-9 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?   But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.   Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. 

This fallen world will always say things that may seem right, they will say we should not discipline or correct our children and if you love them we would not chastise them.  The word of God tells us foolishness is bound in the heart of children and if we love them we will correct them and keep them from being disciplined by society and ending up in correctional institutions as adults. 

Proverbs 14:2, 12 He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death. NKJ

It was God’s love that chose to discipline us that we may become His children and that we may have eternal life.  We too should love our children enough to be willing to beuncomfortable in our discipline of them but we can take comfort in that our children may live a thriving and abundant life. Parenting has never been easy; it is a constant giving of one’s self, but it is rewarding and fulfilling when we operate according to God’s spiritual kingdom ways. 

The word says it pleased the Father to bruise Jesus for He learned obedience through the things He suffered and because of His obedience we are able to become His children through faith in Christ. As parents and caregivers our actions and wordswill teach our children and young people how to treat us and those around them. They will learn either to have respect or contempt for others. 

No one enjoys being around a spoiled, self-consumed and egotistical person all of which comes naturally, it is the foolishness that is bound in the heart without discipline. Self-centered people are hard to live with because they only think of themselves at the cost of those around them.  However, people love to be around and in the company of those who are caring and compassionate toward others and this comes with the teaching of discipline, selflessness and generosity. 

Isaiah 53:10  Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

The gift of obedience is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children aside from salvation.