A Matter of Life or Death

(Proverbs 19:18 KJV)  Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

In this verse I need to add the NASB and work from it.

(Proverbs 19:18 NAS77)  Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.

I struggle on a daily basis with children who are out of control.  They talk back, refuse to listen and assume that whatever gratification they want, they get.  As I write, we are coming up to open house.  Open house is a relic of the past that has no useful function.  I will still be there and some parents will show up.  Most of those who come are the ones who don’t need to show up.  They have invested their lives in their children and are seeing their investment pay off.  I always have a few that take time out of their busy schedules to find out what they can do to help their child.

“Discipline” (3256) or “chasten” as the KJV says. 

What is the one thing they are not willing to do?  “Discipline” (3256) or “chasten” as the KJV says.  It would involve a commitment of time and effort they are not willing to do.  In one class I have seven students who are supposed to bring a paper to me each day.  The paper goes home to the parents so they can check the day’s performance.  Yesterday I had one student who bothered to give it to me and he only did it because I asked him.  To be honest, the rest of the parents don’t care enough to look at a paper and sign it.  It would require them to take action.

Why is this so important?  It will keep their children from killing themselves literally or destroying their future if you take it figuratively.  It is a matter of life and “death” (4191).

So?  If you still have children who will listen, start taking discipline seriously.  As they get older the methods change but the investment is still required.