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potential in every child's life. Par–
ents and other adults need to know
this great purpose and potential so
they can guide ch il dren- and
themselves- toward it.
God has made it possible for
human beings to have powers of
mi nd no animal has-powers of
intellect to reason, thin k, plan,
design and make decisions.
God's ultimate purpose in
humans is the creation of
godly
character.
Children are not chattel
to be abused. Right child rearing is
essential to help make this awe–
some purpose more possible and
successful.
Children are deeply impression–
able clay models. They can be
imprinted with right parenting
examples and values or imprinted
with wrong ones.
A parent's first responsibility is to
set the right examp/e
of how
humans ought to live. The parent
must also guide and discipline the
child until the child in turn is quali–
fied to become a parent and continue
the process God is performing.
The parent who torments or
beats a chi ld in the name of d isci–
pline is not, by any stretch of the
imagination, properly disciplining a
child. A parent who succumbs to
fits of rage and lashes out at a child
in an uncontrollable outburst of
hostility is sowing the seeds of
great problems in the futu re.
We speak out in
The Plain
Truth
in the loudest terms against
an adult losing his or her temper
and st riki ng or shaking a child in
uncontrolled anger or rage.
Discipline wi th Love
Few nations profess to live by
God's instructions and laws re–
vealed in the Bible. Many are igno–
rant of God's purpose for human
life.
God long ago instructed parents
(Deut. 6:5-7, Prov. 22:6, Eph. 6:4)
to love thei r c hildren and to teach
them to love God and fellowman. l t
is obvious parents will be utterly
ineffective in teaching this unless
they are themselves doing it.
The Scriptures also clearly
admonish parents to correct and dis–
cipline chi ldren in !ove for wrong
actions. Unfortunately, too many
view discipline in a negative manner.
They have seen so much child abuse
March 1984
that they reject proper discipl ine
altogether. T hey adopt, instead, a
destructively permissive stance in
response to their children's wrong
attitudes and actions.
If a c hi ld's attitude and knowl–
edge are not properly corrected
when young, the time may come
when it is too late to correct fu rther
(Prov. 19:18).
Corrective ins t ruction and disci–
pline should be applied privately,
promptly, fairly and consistently. It
should be explained beforehand as
to why discipline is being adminis–
tered . I t should
never
cause bruis–
ing or injury toa child . l f physical
reprimand is called for, it should
only be appl ied to the
g/uteus max–
imus-the
fatty area of the seat,
where one sits down. Use common
sense. Never hurt or inj ure a child.
Love and affection must always be
shown soon after correction. l t
shows children your genuine love
and concern for them.
Discipline for wrong acts or alti–
tudes should
never
involve pushing
or slapping on the face, strapping
with a belt buckle, twisting arms,
boxing or pull ing ears, kick ing with
feet , hit ti ng about vital organs or
any ot he r physicall y damaging
action.
If you are a parent and you've
made mistakes with your children ,
if you feel you have fallen short in
sorne way, don't despair.
You can drop down on your
knees and ask God to forgive your
mistakes. You can beseech God to
help you have the right attitudes,
love and wisdom to teach and disci–
pline your children. I t is not too
late-ever- to learn and change
and grow!
o
Has
TIME
BeenLost?
At creation, God blessed the seventh
day of the week, or Sabbath.- He made
it holy time and commanded us to
keep it. But how can we
know, today, which day
God set apart? Our free
booklet presents
irrefutable proofs! For
your copy mail the
card in this issue or
write to our address
nearest you.
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