Spare The Rod And Spoil The Child

There have been many times, when reading the Bible that I’ve wanted to throw it across the room, when I’ve stopped reading and thought, ‘’okay I’m done with this.’’

Then, because I came to the Bible because of a conviction that there is truth in it, I give it another chance. I look online for more information, or I ask like-minded Christian friends. And, suddenly I realise that the line that sounded so appalling, doesn’t mean what I thought it meant. 

And I start reading again. 

When I started reading Proverbs, and came across the line, ‘He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.’ I thought of that old-fashioned saying, ‘spare the rod and spoil the child.’ Was the Bible advocating hitting children? If so then I was done, I would find my own way, in the spiritual reality we live in and I would not use the Bible as a guidebook. 

The next day, I looked for more information. It seems that the concept of the ‘rod’ as something to hit children with, is not from the Bible. The ‘rod’ or staff in the bible was a stick that a herdsman used to ward off animals or thieves that would come to steal his sheep. It was never used to hit the sheep, and was seen in the Bible as a source of guidance or comfort. 

The rod is perhaps the perfect example of how Biblical teachings are distorted in an oppressive culture, that uses the Bible for control, and domination of others. 

In these times of Roe Vs. Wade, and prayer being brought back into public schools in the US, I can sense the anti-Christian sentiment being stirred up, an anti-Christian sentiment that I would have joined in if I hadn’t sensed truth when I saw it. 

I thank God, for bringing kind, compassionate Christians into my life, who are helping being untangle the genuine teachings of Jesus, from the horrific things that the control system has done in his name. 

Jesus is not religion. He himself was killed by religious leaders. I am so glad that a crack in my anti-Christian belief system opened up, and I was able to reconsider what I thought I knew. 

When you think about it, I can’t help but wonder, if the whole thing is orchestrated by Satan. A cunning plan to make Christian beliefs seem so abhorrent and controlling that it attracts only those who crave an authoritarian figure, who like convention, and tradition, being inside an institution. 

And yet Jesus said, ‘and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’