Ramblings From Retirement - Spare the Rod?

Ramblings From Retirement - Spare the Rod?
By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen
May 8, 2021

Mother’s Day is tomorrow and I’ve been writing a few remembrances about my mother. She stood at a mighty 5 foot 2 inches but she was full of life and none of us children crossed her. She could get a terror on in nothing flat and was not afraid to spare the rod. In fact I have planted lilacs in our backyard in remembrance of her because she loved them a lot, however they were also her favorite tool for “whippin’s”. More than once I heard from her say, “Here’s a sharp knife, now go out to the lilac bush and cut me off a sucker so I can whip you.” Now lest you think that she was being abusive, she was not. A few whacks was all it took to get us into a proper frame of mind. None of us suffered from her ministrations and in fact all of us learned respect and discipline from her.

She would remind us that to “spare the rod is to spoil the child” which of course is not found in the Bible but we learn from Proverbs 13:24 that “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. (NIV)” Our Mom never spoiled us nor was she ever afraid to spare the rod and discipline her kids. It did not matter if it was at home or in public she was quick to make sure her children “minded”. Most kids that grew up in my era were faithfully disciplined and it wasn't until the 60’s you begin to hear about how damaging it could be if you actually spanked your little cretins

Discipline is kind of lost art in families today. Now I am not advocating using a switch on your children like our mother did but discipline should never be something you do out of anger, instead it should be consistent and meet the crime involved. Children make normal childish mistakes and those should not be disciplined harshly if at all. However if a child is being willfully disobedient or disrespectful to a parent then that deserves a harsher punishment but the punishment should fit the crime so-to-speak.

All this brings me to the notion of self-discipline. How do you discipline yourself to be the respectful and obedient believer you are supposed to be? Now I am not endorsing that we become like some of the old-time hermits or monks who would flog themselves in order to drive out their sins or the demons within their hearts. This is useless and very self-destructive. Rather I’m thinking of how we should discipline ourselves to spend time in prayer, reading the Bible, or doing the work of God he has called us to do. It is easy for us to make excuses or to be spiritually lazy.

Perhaps we need to spiritually flog ourselves in order to self-discipline our lives? So how do we do that? I am glad you asked.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11 NIV)”

It might be as simple as making sure to set aside a specific time everyday; read small chunks of Scripture or books in the Bible that you like instead of trying to cut off more than you can chew; and make time to do God’s work by calendaring it on your phone and setting a reminder. I do this and it has helped me tremendously in becoming self-disciplined. Perhaps this can become your lilac switch? Spare the rod? Nope. Today dear Child of the Lord do not spare the rod and spoil your relationship with the Lord. 

This article is copyrighted © 2021 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

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