As we read through the Bible we find that lesser authorities never have the right to contradict greater authorities. Therefore government does not have the right to tell us to disobey God. So if God says we must spank our children and the government says we must not, we need to obey God, not government.

Spare the rod, spoil the child. It’s not exactly the wisdom of Solomon, but it’s not far off. Proverbs 13:24 echoes many of the other Proverbs when it says “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Some Proverbs are difficult to discern, but this one not so much. The point is obvious: we are to faithfully discipline our children for the sake of our children.

But it’s not always so simple, is it? Where corporal (or physical) discipline was once considered normal and effective, today many people consider it nothing less than abuse. There are entire nations where it’s no longer legal, and other nations like my own where it remains technically legal but in all likelihood won’t for long. I’m thinking about this today because of an email I received from a reader: “We currently live in Europe where corporal punishment, if discovered, can result in having your children permanently taken away from you. There are many instances just in my country alone. What would you advise for us to do?”

I think this reader, like many people, feels “caught” between competing truths. God instructs parents to discipline their children and it seems fairly clear this involves some level of corporal discipline. But he also tells us to obey our rulers. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). We know God expects us to discipline our children and we know he expects us to obey our rulers. So what do we do when those two come into conflict?

I suppose the first step is to understand if there are limitations on our obedience—are there times when we can rightly disobey? As we read through the Bible we find that lesser authorities never have the right to contradict greater authorities. Therefore government does not have the right to tell us to disobey God. So if God says we must spank our children and the government says we must not, we need to obey God, not government.

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