Children and Punishment

Many people who grew up in church remember a verse said before a spanking: "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Parents were taught that God required it, that a loving parent hits, and that a child's will must be broken early so the child will learn to obey God. Most of those parents were afraid of failing their children and did what they were told.

Parenting is hard, and most parents do their best with what they were handed. This lesson is not here to shame anyone. Before deciding what God wants us to do with children, look at what Jesus did with them. You don't need anyone's permission to raise children the way he treated them, inside a church or outside one.

Measured against the center