The rod of correction: Understanding what it really is in relation to Christian gentle parenting

 What is the rod of correction? It is something to be understood in levels, with some understandings being sinful and blasphemous, and others being spot on. The rod of correction can be found in Proverbs, and repeated to Christians in Hebrews 12:5-8, but does not command spanking at all when understood in context.

A perfect example of the usage of the rod of correction is in Hebrews 12:5-8 KJV:

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whomever the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

The Greek root word translated "scourgeth" is μαστιγόω (Latin: mastigoo) and refers to a scourging, meaning a whipping from a scourge, meaning cat o' nine tails under the Roman legal system, but ultimately refers to the rod of correction. The rod of correction, in the legal context of the Bible, is simply a tree branch, meaning a switch, but was only used as a sentence for a crime, meaning a last warning before a suspect was put to death. Ancient Jewish culture had a patrilineal family system, with fathers having legal authority over their adult sons on an accessory basis, meaning he was merely appointed by the state as an accessory to punish his errant son. A criminal trial in the Sanhedrin was rare, meaning any given court only tried about 1-2 suspects in a decade, meaning punishing criminals was not a common event at all. Children were exempt from punishment. This is the literal history and understanding of the rod of correction, which is specific to a specific Hebraic historical context. There is a figurative understanding to the rod of correction.

Heb. 12:5-8 refers to, in parenting, self-discipline. The Greek root word translated "chasteneth" and "chastisement" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers to self-discipline and self-control, meaning parents are to, figuratively speaking, endure flagellation to learn from their own mistakes as a parent, and endure hardship that comes with raising a child, without punishing the child. Choosing not to punish a child can mean enduring behaviors from a child, being forbidden by conviction to resist the tendency to react to normal childhood behavior, and punish or control it. Chastisement is the product of a parent resisting entitlement, denoted by the Greek root word translated πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and refers not merely to wanting things from children, but wanting them to the point of seeking to impose said want on a child, leading to theft/abuse.

It says in Ephesians 6:1-4 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things, as is right. Honor thy father and mother, as this is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long upon the earth. Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers to the chastening of the Lord, meaning parents disciplining themselves and chastening themselves up in the Lord, in a way that allows them to listen to and validate their children's fears and upset, thereby modeling self-discipline and self-control. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and refers, in context, to a figurative understanding of the rod of correction, namely accountability from parents, meaning the word "no", occasionally and not all the time, due to the fact that benign wants are attachment needs, and that children often do not have the developmental capacity to understand the harm of their actions. The word "no" or its various variants should be a rare event in a Christian home, as it was in Christian homes then. Otherwise, children have freedom next to parents. This is weighed by the Greek root word translated παροργίζο (Latin: parorgizo) and is one of the Greek words that, in this context, refers to the offenses, meaning torts and damages under Jewish law, including assault and battery laws, including those that protect children. This is summed up in the New Testament by the slightest of personal slights coming from entitlement.

This leads to surrender to parents from children, meaning the Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the care and safety of parents, being able to tell anything to parents, be yourself in relation to parents, owing absolutely nothing in relation to parents, yet listening to them not out of fear of punishment, but trust in parents. It is being sheltered righteously by parents in a way that children can make any demand as to needs, and it must be supplied by parents, with parents sacrificing themselves as Christ sacrificed for His children, rendering oneself as a parent lower than your child, humbling oneself to one's child shamefacedly, with said child being an extension of God, meaning the "least of these" (Matt. 25:31-46).

The depraved and entitled parents who punish and control children with a literal rod of correction will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them rot and be tormented in the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!