“He that spareth his rod hateth his son;
But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”
(Proverbs 13:24)
Dear Friends -
I love the poetic wording of this quote from an earlier edition of Proverbs because of the richness in sound and meaning. A more current, common rendering would be, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” The curtness of that rendition gets the message across superficially, but our immediate cultural conditions require a return to a more in-depth understanding. There is actually a play on words here where rod may initially indicate to our minds a tool for punishment, 
however, the deeper Godlier rendition would be that the rod represents the Words of God that give us support. If we withhold from our children that rod, the knowledge of right and wrong and all that God dictates, then we are not loving them, but abandoning them to destruction! Therefore, to truly love your child, parents must discipline with both the rod of knowledge and chastisement. And we are even told when to do it, betimes! That odd ancient word that means speedily… at the moment of importance… or early on in their young formative years before they become hardened by sin. Once they get spoilt with self-indulgence as their way of life and ingrained with sinful tendencies, it becomes more and more difficult to unlearn that behavior and start anew. This facet of parenthood, to train up a child properly, is the most important and difficult of all our obligations; they don’t have to have the best home, clothes, or food, but they do need the best knowledge of God, and parents have The Church to reinforce them in this requirement. If the logic for this is hard to comprehend, look around at the youth or any of those causing havoc, chaos, and safety to our lives these days… they are NOT the children of God but of devilish relativism, and they have never had the rod applied to their being.
The rod of discipline can be hard to administer and the method of punishment will differ from child to child. Some are crushed by a disapproving look from a parent while others need severe restrictions applied to curtail bad habits. Nothing you can administer compares to what Almighty God will inflict with eternal 
damnation; remember that when you fear their disapproval, for we all want our children to love us, but some days you will be hated by them for the consequences you impose. Better that, than no family reunion in heaven. Public discipline and consequences imposed on lawbreakers have taken a nose dive ever since the riots from the George Floyd incident. A crazy idea grew from those times that retaliation against policemen was necessary and a defund the police campaign began, which has not only wrongly demonized police forces all over this country, we are now facing communities that have no law enforcement at all! Instead of re-building, upholding, and respecting that profession, we are now facing criminals avoiding punishment right and left. No police force, no consequences! Look at the daily rise in smash-and-grab crimes everywhere… brazen miscreants laugh at the law while they place all our lives in jeopardy. We have failed to administer the rod of knowledge and the rod of punishment to the evildoers of our time letting them grow in strength for various reasons.
Teaching and maintaining God’s values in our family life must be extended to our community and country; voting into office those individuals 
with Christian ideals is a start, and if we don’t make that a mandatory obligation, we will continue on this downward destruction. Diligent observation and participation in local events will reinforce our understanding of where religious principles are lacking, and countermanding such maladaptive behavior will then become our priority. A spoiled rotten child is a disgrace to the parents… a spoiled rotten nation is a disgrace to its citizens… both displease Almighty God our only source of grace, and such displeasure will not spare the rod… Pray!
THE ROD OF KNOWLEDGE
When you believe in God and know His truths, you can see how the ways of the world are complete foolishness. No parent is infallible; even in their great love for you, they can be inadequate to provide for your every need. And just so for governments. Our politicians promise everything and deliver squat; the more governments try to provide, the more inefficiency is produced with insufficient staff and finances. 
Socialists promoting greater government control in all phases of life, satiate the selfish egos of nonbelievers who are incapable of self-reliance through Almighty God, so they look to government for a handout instead of God. Think about the time when the Apostles were in a boat, tossed about in the storm, and Peter got out to walk on the water toward Jesus who was coming towards them. Peter “became frightened; and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him.” (Matthew 14:30-31). Like Peter, we can become so terrified of death by drowning in the chaotic sea of life that we too cry out for the hand of God to save us… and He does! Knowledge of the surety of God, is a Rod of strength and hope to steadfastly protect and defend you whenever needed. That is exactly why Jesus proclaimed Himself The Good Shepherd, because His great love will never abandon His flock, and He will definitely go after the lost sheep as well. The evil predators that come after His sheep cannot survive His Rod of knowledge and discipline, while His Shepherd’s crook can snag a sheep away from danger and guide it toward greener pastures… no human source has that infallible ability.
God’s Commandments and Christ’s parables, along with the life and death of His many saints and martyrs, are the mainstay of His Rod. His wise words of religious truths cannot be intelligently refuted, and when they are openly ignored, rejected, or ridiculed, then The Rod must be applied. Who does that? We do, with His help naturally. 
Correct the ignorant when they are showing off their stupidity, and educate the naïve to His reality… work at your responsibility of evangelizing His truths. Where evil and corruption exist, bring light to such indiscretions and expose them publicly for all to see, for only by illuminating correction will the wrongs of the world be eliminated. “Reprimand publicly those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid.” (1Timothy 5:20) Fight the school boards who try and take control of children away from parents; reprimand with lawsuits, if necessary, any civic group or government agency that tries to enforce your disobeying your religious beliefs, even should that take years as it can, do it with God’s strength. Join the bandwagon of dissenters who openly chastise entities like Disney, Budweiser, Target, et al who openly promote inclusivity of all that is wrong; hurt them in the pocketbook for that’s what gets their attention; their sensibilities are corruptible, and financial gain their only motivation, which is the root of all evil.
In all your efforts to spread the knowledge of 
God do not neglect your own spiritual growth, so constantly revitalize your faith through Biblical study. Just when I think I know a particular parable backwards and forwards, I proceed in the reading with caution for that is exactly when God will make one line jump out at me with a whole new meaning, or one word will stand out with a brand-new significance… God is never boring, always loving, and He delights in sharing His wisdom for your greater growth in the image of His Son. This Heavenly Father that you love so much needs to be shared with the world—if all peoples could know and love Him as you do—then the world would be wonderful!
