Spanking - Is It Okay?

A couple of months ago, my husband had to work on a Sunday morning, so my dad gave the sermon. I had taken notes, and I found those again today during services in my notebook. My dad first read an article entitled, “I Had the Worst Mother in the World,” and he then tied it in with the teachings of the Bible. In this article, this woman was saying she had the worst mother because growing up she was not allowed to do some of the things other kids did. She was not allowed to wear some of the same things as others. She gave a long list of things that at the time she felt she was deprived of. But as she got older, she realized she had been blessed with the most loving and caring mother in the world who wanted her to grow into a descent and upstanding person.

One of the things this woman went in to detail on was the fact that she was not only corrected while growing up, but she was actually spanked. Oh, my goodness! Wouldn’t Dr. Spock have had a coronary? Spanked! This woman turned out a very good person, and it didn’t hurt her precious psyche one little bit. I could so relate to what this woman was saying because I too was spanked while growing up. And did it hurt me? No, just my bottom and my feelings were hurting at the time.

There is a huge difference between a beating and a spanking. I see so many kids nowadays that need a good spanking. Once in a while I see a kid in the store throwing a fit and then I see the parent marching them outside. I’m thinking at least they are taking care of it, but why have to take it out to the car? When I was growing up, I knew I would just get swatted right there in the store in front of witnesses if I acted that way. That humiliation in itself was enough to make me behave when we were shopping. Now if some people see you spank your child they turn you in to the authorities for abuse. That is just unreal to me. I think there is a terrible injustice on society here if we want to make our children behave and can get in trouble for that. Maybe there wouldn’t be so many convicts out there if they had had the correction in the home while they were growing up.

What is the purpose of spanking? Well, it is definitely an attention getter. It also teaches humility and it steers kids toward better behavior. In no way do I condone beating, which is done with excess time and force to various parts of the body. However, a spanking is directed at the bottom, which is padded for a reason. And a good swat or two is all it generally takes to get that attention or rectify a situation.

Many people can quote the saying of, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” They say it comes from the Bible. The concept is close, but the words are actually, “He who spares his rod hates his son. But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” Proverbs 13:24 NKJV.

I am not going to preach here, but rather leave some food for thought by giving some scriptures that can be researched to see what the Bible says about correction. The Book tells how God corrects his people and compares it with how earthly fathers should correct their children.
· Proverbs 1:8
· Proverbs 3:11,12
· Proverbs 10:1
· Proverbs 13:24
· Proverbs 15:20
· Proverbs 17:25
· Proverbs 19:18, 26
· Proverbs 22:6, 15
· Proverbs 23:13, 14
· Proverbs 29:15, 17
· Ephesians 6:1-4
· Hebrews 12:5-11

Author: Linda Dougherty