Proverbs 13:24 “He that spareth his rod hateth his son; but he that
loveth him chasteneth him early.”
First things first: I detest the
term “black man”, “white people” and any other term that clarifies people
according to the color of their skin. Maybe some day we’ll get over it and be
able to look at people as people. Cam Newton has great athletic ability, but
one of the things I admire most about him is his refusal to get into the black
/ white issue regardless of the media’s pressure.
Well of course all white people are
racist. That’s exactly why all white people have hated Bill Cosby for his
entire career and why he’s been so unsuccessful. Same with Oprah – she ain’t
got a dime to her name. Richard Pryor too – except when he was in his red light
comedy mode. (I’m getting to a point here so please be patient.) The truth is
that the vast majority of white people delight in a successful black man (or
woman).
I’m supporting Ben Carson for
President and not because he’s black, but because of his faith, honesty and
correct diagnosis of what needs to be fixed in America after the Obama fiasco.
OK – back to the point. Bill Cosby
did a routine many years ago that talked about his Dad’s discipline. “Son, I brought
you into this world and I can sure take you back out”. He was a tough guy.
Richard’s Pryor’s skit was that his Dad would give him one whack of the belt
for every word he spoke: “I (whack) told (whack) you (whack) never (whack) to
(whack) … well, you get the idea. Hmmm, wonder if there’s a connection between
discipline and success?
(ADD Alert 1 – I have to mention
Bill Cosby’s recent troubles. Men are pretty bad sexually as we’ll all admit,
but there’s one thing I don’t understand. One of his supposed victims
<sic> said he’d drugged her 6 or 7 times. Hmmm, wonder if there’s any
shared responsibility here?)
(ADD Alert 2 – In Which Way is Up, one of
Richard’s roles was Rev. Lenox Thomas. After the church realizes he’s been
messing with the choir they chase him out of the church and he runs into a
steam roller. The next scene is his funeral and he’s in a casket about 12
inches tall; appropriate since he’d been flattened by the steam roller;
hilarious.)
Children are a gift from the Lord
and should be cared for and protected. In the US there are about 46 million
kids under the age of 12 (http://www.childstats.gov/). Over 122,000 were
determined to be victims of physical abuse (https://www.firststar.org/); about
2.7 percent. While one case of abuse is too many, the statistics are that the
vast majority of fathers are not abusive; not what the liberal media would have
you believe. Please remember that Good
Will Hunting was a movie, not reality.
Someone has told me that John and
Charles Wesley’s mother said that if you didn’t discipline your children before
the age of two, you were probably too late. These men went on to serve God and
establish the Methodist denomination. Each of my sons has experienced my wrath
after acting up in church. They each developed a sense of respect for God’s
house. My sister got tired of me whining about not being a good father and
finally said “at least you’re there”.
So, what do we say about Adrian Peterson? I’ve
seen the photos of his son but don’t really know all the details. At least he’s
there with the desire of a father to correct his child. Maybe he needs some
help in learning to control his temper (like most of us). The NFL and the
Vikings should have minded their own business on this one.
The word for “rod” in scripture is
“shebet” which can also mean club. I’m glad my Dad didn’t read Hebrew. The
Commandment to honor your Father and Mother has a promise …. “that you may live
long in the land”. A death sentence was called upon those dishonoring Father or
Mother; a certain way to reduce your lifespan.
Dr. Mark Lee is one of my heroes.
He did pre-marital counseling for 40 years and developed a program titled “50 Questions on Marriage”. One
of the questions was to determine how you were going to discipline your kids.
He said his kids might get away with sassing him, but if they sassed heir
mother, they wouldn’t even see it coming.
Mighty
Father,
We
have felt thy discipline and are thankful
For
thy mercy and grace
And
love for us.
Help
us Abba,
to
accept thy diving correction,
And
in love
To
correct our children as well.
Blessed
Lord
Restrain
the hand of those who would
Abuse
their children
In
any way.
Protect
these little ones Blessed Father.
Strengthen
their angels
And
deliver them from
The
abusive man.
We
pray also Father
For
the abusive man;
That
he might not visit the abusive experience he has had
Upon
his own offspring.
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