It was a dull shift on Sunday afternoon. Only those too sick to go to church trickled in. After noon, a boy with his mother heralded the crowd that would follow.
They sat in my office while I asked them why they had come. The boy was surprisingly mute about what happened to him...strange for a 13 year old.
"You had better tell the doctor everything or else..!"
He stuttered, stammered, tried to look into my eyes but his neck hurt and was angled at 45. So he just left his head propped by the other shoulder and said:
" I slept late last night and my mother slapped me to bed."
He couldn't hear on the slapped side. It was a massively swollen ear-- red and warm. Merely touching it sent shivers down his spine. The muscles there were too stiff to let him turn the neck.
SEVERE OTALGIA--my diagnosis!
It reminded me of some favorite verses in Proverbs this church woman (now mother) believes are in favor of her abuse since she looked blazingly defiant despite her boy's pain.
Proverbs 23
13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Really? What happened to those who give up from excessive corporal punishment? Let's see just the next verse.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Yes, beating (according to Solomon's wisdom) rescues kids from hellfire. This is laughable...except...well...lemme stop here momentarily.
One last text of interest is this: Proverbs 22
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Well beaten kids must be very wise. What an astounding irony. Oh my...,LOL!
Let's not exhaust this list but I trust you get the drift showing itself already. The wisdom in Solomon's child training methods are overtly lousy but when you look at those words with nuance and literary honesty, you see a much better looking, instruction.
From first verse quoted:
Don't stop correcting your child. IF(not when) you have to beat him, your child won't die from it(provided you are merely correcting rather than harming)
Next verse: This is metaphoric rather than literal. Beating is not salvation for the spirit of a child. The gospel is. Severely beaten kids will go to hell if they reject the gospel.
Final verse: Solomon himself didn't get very wise from being beaten (biblical history suggests God gave him such wisdom). This makes any thinking mind wonder why the hickory stick would be prescribed (by a man not made wise by it), as the effective antidote against foolishness.
Such slight inconsistencies beclouding Solomon's perception of discipline in parenting underscores why we need the New Testament's clarity on the subject.
Once, Jesus remarked with iconic boldness: "A greater than Solomon is here" as documented in Matthew 12 and Luke 11.
This alone, leaves a dark hue on the wisdom of King David's son, for all its timeless flamboyance and medieval fame.
Could this woman not hurt her son physically and still see him sleep early?
Will his having an earache and inflamed neck teach him to avoid paying the cost of disobeying his mum?
What would he remember of the incident 13 years after? Fear, Anger, Love, Security??
Do tell...