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This could be my last article!
Well, the time has come for me to lay the gauntlet down for a challenge. The thought of having Gov. Schwarzenegger sign into law the bill that makes spanking a child under three illegal for parents makes me ill. Although the supporting legislature has admitted that more than 90 percent of the calls to her office have been against the bill, it makes my blood curdle. I agree that children should be cared for and never, I repeat never abused, but I am a firm believer in discipline.
If any country in the world should know the mistake of an empty threat, it is the United States. Nothing is more pathetic than to watch a parent give an empty threat of discipline to a child. It becomes obvious that the child understands there will be no recourse for the action, so the child continues to perform whatever the child pleases. To think this could become law makes me feel a little scared in my own country!
I have never agreed with Dr. Spock and the notion that a child should never be spanked. It was when I had a child that the topic became a real concern. How would my wife and I train a child in the way the child should go? Through our doctor we read a book that gave a biblical approach to child rearing.
What shocked me most was when I understood that the way my child will ultimately respond to God’s voice is the same as he or she will respond to my voice. Do I want God to have to get angry before my child listens? How about God saying something three times before he or she will obey? No. It is a first time obedience issue in my mind. You can look throughout the Scriptures to give you an insight into this type of child rearing.
Discipline is derived from the word, “disciple.” To discipline is not to get mad, angry, revenge, hurt, or upset, but to teach a child in the way he or she should go. It is obvious that we are not put into this world knowing how to act “right.” We have no problem in being bad, but being good must be taught. A child’s spirit must not be crushed, but their will must be shaped.
To take the act of spanking out of the hands of a parent and place it in the hands of the government is scary. This government that gave permission to Planned Parenthood in passing condoms out in high schools, refusing Gideons the opportunity to hand out free Bibles in elementary schools, and allowing evolution to be taught as fact in some classes has no authority to tell a parent how to discipline a child.
I can only ask that you consider a generation of children reared without any concept of discipline. A generation that has been raised to live without boundaries, exists without discipline, and grows without constraint and when you do you will join me in praying that this legislation will bring us all to our senses and be the parents God wants us to be. What do you think?
Dr. Scott Dawson is the founder and CEO of Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association. He can be reached at sdawson@scottdawson.org.