Giving what you value - what does spanking teach?

Think of how you handle things of value. 

Imagine yourself...

...holding a $10,000 diamond necklace in your hand. 

...sitting in the driver's seat of a brand new Corvette.

...holding a newborn baby.

...walking across a room with a crystal vase full of roses.

When we handle things "of value" - we handle them carefully. Tenderly. With reverence.

A child seeing a parent handling a valuable item would see through the parent's body language that the thing they were holding...was valuable.

So...what does spanking demonstrate to the child about their value? 

When the child sees the parent scowling, raising an arm in order to inflict pain upon them - what does that parental body language tell the child about their value?

In the Bible we read about a widow who put 2 copper coins into the temple treasury. Jesus said she had put in more than the rich had. We know literally she hadn't put in coins of more value than the rich...so what does Jesus mean?

"He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”"

Those two copper coins were of extreme value to the woman and yet she gave them to God. The rich placed little value on the coins they put in because they had so much, so to God...their donation wasn't worth what hers was.

Someday your hope is that your child will serve God, yes?

In which way will they offer service to God? Like the widow or like the rich? 

Will your child see themselves with the value that the widow did the coins, and yet give anyway? Or will your child see themselves with the value the rich did...as essentially worthless...and give of themselves believing they really aren't worth anything anyway, so why not?

The way you treat your child...will determine how much they value themselves. And out of that valuation, they will either please, or not please God with their service.

For their service to God to be of value to God someday they must first identify themselves as having a high value...and choose to give of themselves anyway.

Picture your body language during a spanking. Picture the way you handle their body when you are spanking them. Picture the whole scene from the child's perspective. Does that picture teach them they are of the utmost value? 

For that matter imagine the impact on your child when you do so many of the prescribed things in books by men like Ezzo, Tripp, and Dobson. Does ignoring a crying child teach them they are of high value or little? Does separating yourself from them regularly to have "time away from them" teach them they have high value or little? Does threatening them with a whipping if they are disturbing your peace teach them they have high value or little?

Remember that Jesus told us we are to always "consider others (and that includes your children) as more important than yourselves," and realize that had your child been the only human on earth - Jesus still would have died for them. That's how much your child matters. 

Spend some time and try to imagine how you could live with your children in such a way as to demonstrate to them their immense infinite (blood of Jesus) value and inspire them...to want to choose...to live a life committed to God?