Anger: Why parents should not be angry with their children

Many parents believe they have the right to get angry at a child. Most parents constantly or else intermittently yell at or forcibly scold children, and most of them defend it. However, anger has a specific meaning to God, and that meaning is legal in nature.

It says in Matthew 5:21-22 KJV:

Ye have heard it was said of old times, Thou shalt not kill; whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

"Whosoever is angry with his brother" means here any parent who is angry with their child "without a cause" means any cause, since this refers to courtroom anger. In a divine court of law, you must secure all the evidence before issuing a conviction on an individual, and only once the individual is convicted of a moral crime and they respond with entitlement can they be mocked. A remorseful offender is to be forgiven, if they are deemed by the plaintiff to be genuinely remorseful. A child cannot be charged with a moral crime at all, as they are not subjects of the Law, but live under the grace of parents. Any anger then that was expressed outside of court bounds was considered unlawful anger, meaning the ancient Jews had to save their anger for court, with it meaning the exchange in the Christian sense, with the exchange being rare, and not at all with children.

Children cannot stand trial in a divine court of law, as culpability under divine law implied knowledge and a certain fortitude that is willful or reckless, all in one, and children under a certain age are deemed too young to testify and account for moral wrongs in court, as parents are to apologize for their child's mischief in court, then lecture the child gently and without punishment.

Withhold your court-space in relation to children, and simply apologize for them. It says in Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things, as is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, warm rest and trust in the love and grace of parents, just as adult believers rest in the love and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Respect for parents is closeness, leading to fondness and admiration of parents later on, and then honor. This was done by way of attachment parenting in the 1st Century Christian church, with children nude throughout childhood, so that their vulnerability could show, and that they could surrender to the arms of mothers, in skin-to-skin closeness to mothers. Children up to age 3 were seen as infants behaviorally, and breastfed up until then. Anger is the antithesis of everything attachment parenting, meaning both fathers and mothers must restrain their anger towards children and around children when it would startle them. Anger towards a child leads to detachment, and provokes children to anger. The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to "stirring up" upset and resentment in children, meaning the Jewish idiom of "stirring the pot" in regards to your child's emotional welfare, meaning offenses against children, or the slightest of offense perceived by the child. This included, by intent of pen by the Apostle Paul, any corporal or other punishment against children, meaning all parenting had to be attachment-based. The Apostle Paul was warning parents of Greek origin in the church about the Law on parenting, whereas spanking was a Hellenistic parenting tradition. Paul would have none of it in the churches he oversaw, and gave the commandment to the Colossians and the Ephesians not to provoke a child to anger.

In the Old Testament, corporal punishment was an option, but only for adult children, and only within a courtroom, after many warnings issued by extended family and the community at large. Corporal punishment was a once in a lifetime experience, meaning 40 minus 1 lashes to the bare back, with the punishment carrying a special, mature meaning, and was seen as a second chance at life. Most offenders lived through the ordeal, then told a friend about it. If the offended just once more, they would have been put to death. No minor child was treated this way, and parents instead were held culpable in court for their child's misdeeds, and they had to apologize before the court for an unruly child that disturbed the neighbors. In the New Testament context of the Early Church, no capital or corporal punishment existed, as Christ died and endured the death penalty and corporal punishment so that that such be abolished, meaning in the Early Church, only a handful of Christians practiced corporal punishment legally, and only with their wives, by contract. Striking a child was never acceptable. Even then, most husbands saw physically chastising a wife as weakness due to lack of self-control, and instead rebuked their wives, and only when they knew their wives would listen, with wives being able to threaten entitled men with divorce - and they did, especially when the children were abused, perhaps at the request of a child. Women had more flexibility with their emotions by default, but were reeled in by their husbands when they lost their temper with their child. Usually, though, Christian husbands were supportive and chivalrous in their rebuke of their wife in this regard.

The proper courtroom temperament for parents is to apologize on behalf of their child, and then lecture their child as to proper behavior afterwards, with arms embrace without punishment later, wiping away any tears that may come out. Children are not courtroom subjects, and aren't subjects of adults at all. Children live under the grace of adults, and are exempt from the Law due to youthful inexperience.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke children to anger with their anger will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them burn in the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death, which is Satan's final resting place! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!