“Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge. Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. Physical discipline may well save them from death. My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right. Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags. Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old. Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy. O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways. A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful. Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?””
‭‭

Proverbs‬ ‭23‬:‭12‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In this passage we find Solomon creating a juxtaposition between two possible futures. The first is that of a son who pursues wisdom and instruction. The second is that of a son who pursues his lusts and passions. It should be noted that the passage is referencing these futures for the sake of the father who might be worried about destroying his child’s spirit by giving him the rod of instruction. It should also be noted that this instruction is physical. The passage says ,”it may save him from death.” In modern western culture, this is viewed as a taboo subject, yet the instruction is clear. There is a correlation between the idea of success and physical correction. The execution of this teaching is where the difficulty lies. For many, their concern is not in correction toward a future of well adjusted biblical adulthood under God. Instead, of discipline, they punish. They create a legacy of mal adaptation that that is encourages pursuing unhealthy coping skills. If physical discipline is not used, it doesn’t cement godliness into the physical world. What’s more is that punishment and retribution cement sinful desires and patterns. It is a tricky tightrope to walk.

This passage therefore contains a necessary hope. It contains the promise that of a parent is godly to pears their child, which necessarily has includes physical discipline, then things like the promiscuous woman and the drunken sailor do not have to be their future. Those things, with boldness, can be broken. Too many parents trade the futures of their children away for present day calm. But they don’t realize that they are only allowing the sin nature inside a child to fester. We must, with all our cleverness, figure a way to bring our love into tangible direction. If we do so with love and a spirit of tenderheartedness and reconciliation, our errant children may cry now, but they won’t cry later as a drunk sailor looking for his daily alcohol. Likewise, we will live out our golden years as proud and secure parents , knowing that our children can rightfully navigate reality, despite the many tangential paths that lead to death and destruction.