“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” (Proverbs 30:5)
Last week’s column ministered to many of you who have teenagers and struggle to find the wisdom to deal with what happens during those years when the hormones are raging. Misery loves company, doesn’t it?
One of my readers, however, found no humor in my tongue-in-cheek approach to my son’s mischief. She took me far too seriously and obviously didn’t realize that the joke was on me.
“I can’t believe that you would humiliate your son like that in the newspaper,” she decried. “And as far as that Scripture is concerned, I don’t think Jesus would be pleased with it at all. Don’t you realize that there are a lot of evil people out there wanting more excuses to beat their children?”
Thank the Lord for Caller ID. I couldn’t help but to return her call and explain that she had sorely misunderstood my point.
“Hi Ms. Smith. This is Mike Ruffin. I appreciate your call and wanted to let you know that I would never print a story like that without discussing it with my son first. I let him read it and gave him the opportunity to change it. He didn’t have any problems with it and certainly didn’t find it humiliating.”
You shouldn’t beat your child,” she exclaimed. “I’m eighty years old and learned a long time ago that beating your children does absolutely no good.” We’re supposed to love them.”
“Well, now let me tell you,” I interrupted. “I believe discipline to be a form of love. I assure you I don’t really ‘beat’ my children, but I am not afraid to put my belt on their backsides when I think it’s needed,” I explained.
“Well you’re wrong,” she told me, “and I don’t think Jesus would agree with that Scripture that you used.”
She was talking about Proverbs 23:13, “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.”
“Why not?” I asked. “He’s the one who said it. Don’t you believe every word in the Bible is from God?”
“I certainly do not,” she said.
“Well, you need to commit that matter to prayer and ask God to reveal the truth to you,” I recommended.
I didn’t have the chance to finish our conversation. Something went wrong with my telephone because I lost the connection right in the middle of my sentence. At second thought, I guess she was more in the telling mode than the listening mode.
I’ve had some time to reflect on our conversation. I’m not very much bothered by the fact that missed the whole point of my story: There are equally effective options to “spankings”, some of which actually work out better in the long run. They just require a little thought and preparation.
What bothered me most about our conversation was the fact that she steadfastly denied that every word in the Bible was from God. I hope the rest of you don’t feel that way. But if some of you agree with her, let me ask you a question: Just which verses in the Bible belong to God?
I believe what the Bible says: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) In other words, someone else may have been doing the talking, but the message was from God.
If you don’t believe that every word in the Bible originated from the heart of God, I’m not surprised why it doesn’t make any sense to you. Your “Cut-and-Paste Theology” will make sure that you never fully understand your relationship with Christ. The truth is you’ll never feel the Jesus I know.
And that’s a sad ending to what should be a happy story?
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