Many times we can tell someone something, and many say it is harsh, that the one who preaches preaches strongly, but it is better for one to read it themselves and draw their own conclusion.
How many times do you hear people say they do not go to a certain church because the pastor preaches strongly and speaks directly, but they forget that a pastor’s job is to preach as sincerely as possible, without complacency, without favoritism, without partiality, because God does not want people to change or twist His word?
What does Proverbs 19:18 mean? In the first place, it speaks of discipline. Discipline does not mean beating a child, nor does it mean mistreating a child, but it means instructing the child on the right path. And to instruct a child, we must have time for them, because parental instruction must be personal: sitting beside your child in a conversation, not an argument with bad words, but an instruction filled with encouragement, where you as a parent separate good from evil and instruct your child in it.
The Proverb speaks very clearly to all parents, and especially all those in leadership must speak a word: “Discipline your son while there is still hope, and do not desire his death.”
In a word, discipline must start from a young age, because when a child grows up, they no longer listen. Everyone loves their child, but the time has come for us to examine ourselves and ask: am I operating in love or am I operating in spoiling/permissiveness?
Because buying a child’s heart with gifts and letting them do whatever they want—for example, throwing their things around the house and you as a parent walking around picking them up without saying anything to them—is not love, it is spoiling. Letting them go out and come home whenever they want is not love, it is spoiling. Love instructs the child in the correct path, so that they rise with integrity and great respect. Love demonstrates that you value what God has given you, and you make every effort for them to be a good person.
We are not living in the best of times, there are many traps for our youth; the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and everyone with sound judgment must see that and stop trying to hide the sun with a finger (covering up reality). The street has nothing to offer your child; the street is evil, shame, pain, and death. As a parent, you have all the tools that God has given you to raise your child in the right way. Everything begins with the testimony you yourself give in your home.
The word sounds harsh, but it is this: a house without rules is a goat pen, because evil and immorality enter there, weapons enter, and drugs enter, because parents have given up (thrown in the towel), they are busy with the modern vocabulary, they have two jobs, they are out partying, they are at the gym taking care of their bodies, they are enjoying life, while their children are heading at high speed into darkness. They have so many excuses that it is hard to get their attention as parents. The devil’s plan is to put parents to shame, to make them feel like failures as parents, and to affect their health with pain and sadness, to hinder them from fulfilling the mandate that God has given them.
Parent, now it is up to you, make your decision.
Sincerely,
Pastor Marcel Balootje.