Note: If you have not read part 1 (or are new to this site) you have visited in the middle of a context sensitive subject. Please read A Leprous Society―And Proud Of It! (which is part 1) by scrolling down. After you read that article, the first paragraph of this part 2 will make more sense, taste better, and go down smoother.
There’s something else about the leprous society that disturbs me; that is, those who try to get everybody else to catch the disease seem to change in appearance. They hunch little . . . like a witch . . . and get a creepy look in their eye . . . like Egore. I don’t mean that literally, of course. I’m just saying those who have an ear, let them hear what the Spirit of God says to the churches.
I saw a TV documentary years ago which chronicled a problem taking place in a massive conservation area in Africa. The elephant population was spiraling out of control. The elephants had not exhibited any unusual behavior for generations, then they suddenly started acting up, crashing through barriers and stomping down sheds, even damaging homes in the neighborhoods around the massive conservation area. Humans who had lived in peace for generations near the conservation area were suddenly being terrorized by elephants and nobody could figure out why. The dramatic change was particularly alarming for those who knew the “peaceful good old days.” Nothing anyone did seemed to make any difference while the problem grew steadily worse.
Then someone stumbled into something revolutionary! They realized the only thing that had changed since the problems began was all the bull elephants had been removed to make room for the young males coming up. Then somebody else pointed out that the only elephants terrorizing the humans were the teenagers (in elephant years). After much debate (which I would imagine centered around how dangerous bull elephants really were to elephant societies) the government spent huge amounts of money airlifting the bull elephants back into the conservation area. With amazing rapidity the problem instantly vanished, while rangers observed bull elephants “man-handling” (or elephant-handling) the “teenagers,” forcing them to conduct themselves appropriately. It turns out the sudden outbreak of lawlessness was due to the removal of the paternal training of fathers! This is but one example of how common sense and natural order are screaming at the leprous society how ludicrous their “no-pain” philosophy is!
Again, those who have an ear . . .
It is important for every generation, even for those whose children are grown and gone, to maintain a healthy vision for godly parenting. A generational shift away from God’s ways will have a devastating impact on our culture, as those who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s already know. Your vision as a grandparent (but especially as a parent), or the lack thereof, can determine whether you are a stumbling block to your grandchildren or are salt in a kingdom which will never end. This is precisely why I state up front on the Godly Parenting page of this website that the teachings of that page are for parents, grandparents, and for all former children (which means everybody!)
Natural order tells us when you remove something significant from an ecosystem it creates unintended and sometimes devastating consequences. If the authorities in that elephant documentary had known what removing the paternal training of fathers would do to their elephant world, they would have never spent so much money trying to expunge it in the first place. When they finally reaped the consequences for violating that principle, what they found was so significant (at the expense of many terrorized humans) they were willing to spend even more money on the off chance that it might restore things back to normal. That is how desperate the situation had become. Natural order alone tells us these things. The Bible, on the other hand, explains the real reason for this particular problem. I will offer you both an indirect and a direct approach the Bible uses to explain both the cause and effect for this issue.
The cause of the problem is stated in an indirect way in Hebrews 12:8, which says,
Verse 7, the verse before this one, and verse 9, the one after it, both emphasize not only the universality but the absolute necessary of fatherly discipline for the young. The truth applies to all humanity, regardless of their culture, and even to some animals (such as elephants). When fatherly training is either absent or deliberately removed by a leprous society, it creates a sense of illegitimacy in the next generation. They are plagued by the nagging feeling that they do not belong. Many respond to that torment by lashing out, trying to create a world where they can feel accepted, often filling the void with lawless behavior. The sense of illegitimacy is the root cause for some (but not all) of that “I don’t care” attitude you often see in the next generation. Many well intentioned parents respond to those symptoms by supposing they need to give their children even more freedom and “hands-off” care. Others respond by trying to become their child’s BFF. Parents who refuse biblical underpinnings easily buy into these kinds of philosophies because they think it is wrong to upset their child’s world any more than it already is. In reality, the underlying cause for many of those symptoms they see (which they have actually been observing for quite some time in lesser ways while their child was young) is a sense of illegitimacy due to the lack (or the insufficiency) of the fatherly training. In some cases those children had great maternal care, but the absence of firm fatherly input still created the sense in them that they did not belong. Many do not realize that maternal input alone (loving, nurturing, understanding, compassion) is just as inadequate as fatherly training by itself (stern, consequence-oriented punishment). Before you react too much to these statements, keep reading because the Bible takes us somewhere in all this. We haven’t gotten to that direct statement I referred to yet.
Keep in mind that kindness, understanding, and loving care (general characteristics of maternal input) are just as much a requirement for godly manhood as the courage to confront, correct, and discipline wrongdoing. Proverbs 3:3 says “Do not let kindness and truth leave you.” What the world has done, however, is elevate kindness to a place where God’s truth is being sacrificed on the altar of kindness. The result is people are too intimidated to challenge anything clothed in “kindness,” even if it is a wolf. They are terrified at being tagged with the dreaded “hate” label (which is the absolute worst evil on the planet for any upstanding member of the leprous society).
Still more baffling is anyone who gets in the way of society’s insanity is trampled over like a piece of garbage because they suggest a common sense solution according to natural order. Most tragically, however, is parents and truth are not the only casualties whenever God is rejected―the children themselves are devastated by wolves clothed with “kindness” and are damaged in ways society never considered (as mentioned in part 1). These are but a few of the unintended consequences that occur whenever something significant is removed from God’s ecosystem, especially when He has made it clear that those principles must be preserved and honored.
So what does the Bible say is the harm that will befall any child who either despises or does not receive fatherly training? The answer is it says their eyes will be gouged out and they will go blind. As bad as that sounds, however, it is only the first step in a much more dangerous sequel. What could possibly be worse than going blind? The Bible has a definitive and surprising answer to that question.
Now it is time to share the direct statement the Bible makes about children who despise their fathers. Interestingly, (as you will see from the verse I am about to give you) the same thing happens when children reject maternal care as well. For now I will deal with only the first half of Proverbs 30:17, which says,
When God inspires something and places it in His written word, it is because it is incredibly significant. According to Psalm 12:6 God’s word is refined seven times, which means it is not only pure―it is extremely potent in both promise and warning. Let’s look closely at what God warns every parent, grandparent, child, and grandchild in the world about and why.
Because part 2 of this series of articles is dealing with the removal of paternal training from society, I will focus only on the statement about the fathers, but keep in mind that rejecting paternal or maternal training creates the same serious problem for children.
The first thing to notice about the first half of the verse is what is being addressed: surprisingly, it is not an outward act of disobedience by children toward their fathers; it is a nonverbal response, which is an indicator of the child’s inward attitude. The verse says, “the eye that mocks a father,” which means this warning is about something as simple as a look of disgust. The verse has skipped over outward acts of rebellion and has focused on the inward attitude of every child toward fatherly training. Children may comply outwardly with what dad says, but God knows that is not enough. God knows children need a heart of obedience to remain safe, not just outward compliance. Parents who train outward behavior but neglect the inward attitude of their child are missing something crucial. Their intentions might be good but the warning still applies.
I’m sure you have heard the expression, “I’m sitting down on the outside, but standing up on the inside!” That statement describes inward rebellion. The phrase is sometimes used in a good way to describe a kidnap victim who has refused to be defeated by their torturers, even though they are forced to submit physically. The problem is the phrase also describes the inward attitude every child gets toward the godly input of their fathers at one time or another in their life. Outwardly they may obey, but inwardly they despise every moment of the instruction. They mock the instruction in their hearts because they are young and naïve and have no idea how dangerous that defiance is. Let me explain.
Most people are not aware of the continuous theme running through the Book of Proverbs. Every individual proverb is amazing and can stand alone as invaluable wisdom. However, we often get caught up in the splendor of those individual verses and miss the broader context which makes each of them so effective. What I am trying to say is those individual treasures are meaningless if we neglect the overarching theme in the Book of Proverbs. There is something behind all those principles which must be in place in order for those principles to produce their intended effect. Proverbs 30:17 (which appears near the end of Proverbs) is referring back to that overall theme, and is warning every youth (and their parents) about a horrible snare that awaits anyone who ignores the overall theme.
The best way to describe this theme is to describe the two different kinds of fear in the Bible. One of those fears we are commanded never to do, while the other we are commanded to always do. The fear we must never have is the terror kind, the one that frightens us and makes us shrink back in horror. Unfortunately heavy-handed, tyrannical parenting creates exactly that kind of fear in children. The other fear we are commanded to always have is “the fear of the Lord.” This fear does not terrorize or cause anyone to cower; instead, it is a pure fear that can be described as reverence, respect, and honor in a heart.
When someone has the “fear of the Lord” it does not mean they are deathly afraid of God, or are terrorized about doing the wrong thing. Yet the world thinks this is exactly what it means because they do not know God. Having the “fear of the Lord” means we have encountered the living God and because we know what He is truly like, we honor Him so much we want to do right thing from our heart, no matter how much it might costs us to do so. Having the fear of the Lord means we esteem God so highly above everything else, that out of our reverence for Him we will gladly choose to obey Him in love and humility (which is a great definition of sincere Christianity). This is the kind of reverence parents are charged with making sure grows in the hearts of their children. To say that is no small task is indeed an understatement.
The reason the “fear of the Lord” is so important is because the entire Book of Proverbs is saying that this fear is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, without that reverence in a heart, real learning cannot begin. A child may develop academically, yes, but they cannot begin growing in real life wisdom until a true reverence for God (and their parents) has fermented in their heart. This is precisely why all those great principles in the individual proverbs are meaningless without the overall theme of the book (the fear of the Lord) being in our hearts.
The fear of the Lord is something only God can give our children, and something parents are charged with cultivating, tending, and keeping the weeds from choking out. It is also something parents can corrupt, or become a stumbling block to, if they are not careful. This concept is so crucial to everyone’s relationship with God, the Book of Proverbs states right up front in chapter 1 that the intention of the book is to teach youth this wisdom. That is what it means when it says to give “youth knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:4). Then it follows up that declaration by saying “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Most of us read right past that (including yours truly) to get to what we think is the good stuff. We think we already know about the “fear of the Lord” stuff, when in reality we miss the fact that it is a profound attitude of the heart which makes everything else work. We think we understand, but we don’t.
This reverence in our hearts, a deep respect for God and His ways, an esteem for whatever God wants over anything we might want, provides the very basis for our relationship with Him. Without that we can never be sincere; instead, we become a warped perversion like the Pharisees. It does not matter if we apply all the incredible “principles” because in the end we will miss the mark due to the absence of that one crucial thing. This is why whenever a parents sees “the eye that mocks a father, and scorns a mother,” it must be dealt with as if that look was a blatant act of rebellion (because in God’s eyes it is). Because parents miss this, they often teach the principles, but neglect the soil in which those principles grow. Parents can say great things to their kids and offer them tremendous insights, but those things cannot germinate because the soil on which they are being sown is despising (and attacking) all that great seed beneath the surface. This is how children who are taught the right things about God sometimes end up so evil, because of the absence of the “reverence of the Lord” in their heart in their youth. Toward the end of the Book of Proverbs it harkens back to this vital concept of the “fear of the Lord” by explaining exactly what will happen to any child if they despise and do not repent of that lack of reverence. The Bible states in plain language where and how that child will end up if they do not change.
There is more to say about the fear of the Lord, of course, but I need to continue with the original progression I began in Proverbs 30:17.
The second half of Proverbs 30:17 describes the invisible trap that waits around the corner for everyone who despises parental authority and why it is so dangerous. Right after saying “the eye that mocks a father, and scorns a mother,” it says . . .
This second half of the verse is actually describing two stages of the trap. The first stage is when the birds of prey come along and pick out that “mocking eye.” (The fact that they will do this is a promise). The first thing birds of prey do when they come upon what they think will be their next meal is to skittishly pick out the eyes. They do this because they are not sure if the thing is really dead or not, or if it is just lying in wait to pounce on them to make them their next meal. Birds of prey are smart. They know nothing can “fake it” through the gouging out of its eyes. If the animal is really incapacitated, it will not move. If it has enough strength to fight back it has to do so blind now. To birds of prey this is a win-win situation and is therefore the first tactic they use on the scene.
What does that mean for the child with the mocking eye? It means waiting right around the corner for them is a vast, dark kingdom of evil spirits which are represented by those birds of prey. The first goal of that kingdom is to pluck out the mocking eye, which means mocking child is headed for blindness. They are destined to become devoid of any discernment whatsoever, and will therefore blunder into all sorts of evils (which will astonish both them and their parents) because they have no idea where they are going or how to escape these dangers. This is what a lack of reverence does to every heart on the planet. It renders them blind! The heart that honors is a heart that can learn; a heart that despises is a darkened chamber without any discernment because it has already been snared by the first part of a two part trap. This is why Proverbs warns every youth (and parent) that the “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs could not be more literal in what it means and begins by declaring this truth right up front! Every youth who continues through the rest of the Book of Proverbs is supposed to discover exactly what kind of trap they will face if the fear of the Lord is not in their hearts. All parents must teach their children these things! They must explain the principles of Proverbs 30:17 so their child can combat that despising which will inevitably rise up in their heart toward their parents. “Watch over your heart with all diligence,” Proverbs 4:23 goes on to day, “for from it flow the springs of life.”
The 100% reliable result of the despising and mocking of parental authority (or any authority in general) is blindness. This is both God’s warning and His promise. So what can be worse than total blindness? What could be worse than having all the lights go out so that we cannot see or discern anything dangerous? Part 2 of the trap is actually worse than part 1. It says,
What does that mean? The eagles represent a stronger and more formidable class of birds of prey. The smaller birds, the ravens, will pick at the eye and render it blind but the most formidable creatures will come along behind them and actually eat it! They will chew up that child’s seeing instrument and ingest it into themselves. What does that mean? It means the mocking eye has now reached its final stage of deception and devastation. The mocking eye is now not only blind to what is dangerous, that child will now see the world the same way those stronger evil spirits do. That’s right, the child now views the world just like God’s enemies. They are not just blind victims anymore; they have been transformed! They are now perpetrators with a vision to exploit! They are no longer just victims of injustice; they are now perpetrators of that injustice. They have developed to a point where they are in league with the literal enemies of God, which means they are helping to gouge out the eyes of other unsuspecting mockers and despisers. The last state of the mocking child (as a perpetrator) has become worse than the first (as just a blind victim).
Can you see now why the mocking eye is so dangerous for all of us? If that isn’t enough to motivate parents, grandparents, and the children, then nothing will inspire them. They are doomed to stumble into the two part trap and be consumed by darkness. God alone can deliver us and our children from these things, so pray for your children fervently while you train them. Explain these things to them and ask the living God (in their hearing) to give you and your children the “fear of the Lord” according to Jeremiah 33:38-41 which says,
The covenant the Lord is referring to in those verses is the one He makes with each of us as born again Christians when we surrender, repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the nature of our great salvation! I assume you also noticed how excited God gets about the “heart” thing. Let me say it again! Do not be a stumbling block to your children’s development in these things. One way you can prevent that from happening is by never allowing their mocking eye to go unchecked when you see it in your children. Instead, explain to them exactly what it will do to them in a way that drives the point home. Then ask the Lord to grant to you that your rod (of discipline) will bud, bloom, blossom, and bear the ripe fruit of reverence, honor, and esteem for the Lord in the heart of your children.
In conclusion, can you see more clearly now why it is so dangerous for society to despise the fatherly training of children? Can you understand why a society must never depart from (or despise) strong paternal input without subjecting the next generation to insidious harm? The world absolutely cannot see these things because they are totally blind! The reason they are blind is because they have despised fatherly training for so long. In fact, they are past the blindness stage now, which is why they are trying to get everybody else to catch their leprosy! Their mocking eye has been completely consumed by a stronger class of God’s enemies so they now see the world the way God’s enemies do. The Bible is always true, not only for individuals, but for larger collections of people as well (societies). It also means these things are doubly important for the church, which is intended to represent God’s society in the earth.
Those who have an ear, let them hear what the Spirit of God says to the churches.
If you have never practiced the Biblically based method of training your children through the use of pain (spanking), please read the sequels to this article before you begin. The first one will be entitled, “What Is, And What Ain’t, Spanking?” and will appear in the Godly Parenting tab (see top) of this site.
If you remove spanking (the real kind) from the training in your home, you in effect are removing a form of fatherhood from your children. Please be aware that the world is teaching a corrupted version of fatherhood and motherhood, one that is a counterfeit of what God has prescribed for true fathers and mothers. Don’t get sucked into the deceptions of a society that not only mocks, but despises and hates true fatherhood―so much so that it is trying to abolish it altogether! Society has become so blind to the treasure of godly fatherhood, its mocking eye has already been consumed by larger birds of prey. Their mocking eye now stares out at the world like Egore’s! They honestly believe that leprosy (feeling no pain) is the best form of training since sliced bread.
I will close with a passage of Scripture from Malachi 4:5-6, which the Lord has arranged to appear in the Bible just before God announces the glad tidings of His new covenant in Jesus (through John the Baptist).
It is interesting that according to Luke 1:17, the angel that was sent from God to the father of John the Baptist tells him that his son will “turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children, [and as a result of that] the disobedient to the heart of the righteous . . .
There’s something else about the leprous society that disturbs me; that is, those who try to get everybody else to catch the disease seem to change in appearance. They hunch little . . . like a witch . . . and get a creepy look in their eye . . . like Egore. I don’t mean that literally, of course. I’m just saying those who have an ear, let them hear what the Spirit of God says to the churches.
Bull Elephants
I saw a TV documentary years ago which chronicled a problem taking place in a massive conservation area in Africa. The elephant population was spiraling out of control. The elephants had not exhibited any unusual behavior for generations, then they suddenly started acting up, crashing through barriers and stomping down sheds, even damaging homes in the neighborhoods around the massive conservation area. Humans who had lived in peace for generations near the conservation area were suddenly being terrorized by elephants and nobody could figure out why. The dramatic change was particularly alarming for those who knew the “peaceful good old days.” Nothing anyone did seemed to make any difference while the problem grew steadily worse.
Then someone stumbled into something revolutionary! They realized the only thing that had changed since the problems began was all the bull elephants had been removed to make room for the young males coming up. Then somebody else pointed out that the only elephants terrorizing the humans were the teenagers (in elephant years). After much debate (which I would imagine centered around how dangerous bull elephants really were to elephant societies) the government spent huge amounts of money airlifting the bull elephants back into the conservation area. With amazing rapidity the problem instantly vanished, while rangers observed bull elephants “man-handling” (or elephant-handling) the “teenagers,” forcing them to conduct themselves appropriately. It turns out the sudden outbreak of lawlessness was due to the removal of the paternal training of fathers! This is but one example of how common sense and natural order are screaming at the leprous society how ludicrous their “no-pain” philosophy is!
Again, those who have an ear . . .
Healthy Vision
It is important for every generation, even for those whose children are grown and gone, to maintain a healthy vision for godly parenting. A generational shift away from God’s ways will have a devastating impact on our culture, as those who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s already know. Your vision as a grandparent (but especially as a parent), or the lack thereof, can determine whether you are a stumbling block to your grandchildren or are salt in a kingdom which will never end. This is precisely why I state up front on the Godly Parenting page of this website that the teachings of that page are for parents, grandparents, and for all former children (which means everybody!)
The Bible Goes A Step Further
Natural order tells us when you remove something significant from an ecosystem it creates unintended and sometimes devastating consequences. If the authorities in that elephant documentary had known what removing the paternal training of fathers would do to their elephant world, they would have never spent so much money trying to expunge it in the first place. When they finally reaped the consequences for violating that principle, what they found was so significant (at the expense of many terrorized humans) they were willing to spend even more money on the off chance that it might restore things back to normal. That is how desperate the situation had become. Natural order alone tells us these things. The Bible, on the other hand, explains the real reason for this particular problem. I will offer you both an indirect and a direct approach the Bible uses to explain both the cause and effect for this issue.
The cause of the problem is stated in an indirect way in Hebrews 12:8, which says,
“But if you are without discipline,
of which all have become partakers,
[that’s a “natural order” statement]
then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
[this is the underlying reason]
Verse 7, the verse before this one, and verse 9, the one after it, both emphasize not only the universality but the absolute necessary of fatherly discipline for the young. The truth applies to all humanity, regardless of their culture, and even to some animals (such as elephants). When fatherly training is either absent or deliberately removed by a leprous society, it creates a sense of illegitimacy in the next generation. They are plagued by the nagging feeling that they do not belong. Many respond to that torment by lashing out, trying to create a world where they can feel accepted, often filling the void with lawless behavior. The sense of illegitimacy is the root cause for some (but not all) of that “I don’t care” attitude you often see in the next generation. Many well intentioned parents respond to those symptoms by supposing they need to give their children even more freedom and “hands-off” care. Others respond by trying to become their child’s BFF. Parents who refuse biblical underpinnings easily buy into these kinds of philosophies because they think it is wrong to upset their child’s world any more than it already is. In reality, the underlying cause for many of those symptoms they see (which they have actually been observing for quite some time in lesser ways while their child was young) is a sense of illegitimacy due to the lack (or the insufficiency) of the fatherly training. In some cases those children had great maternal care, but the absence of firm fatherly input still created the sense in them that they did not belong. Many do not realize that maternal input alone (loving, nurturing, understanding, compassion) is just as inadequate as fatherly training by itself (stern, consequence-oriented punishment). Before you react too much to these statements, keep reading because the Bible takes us somewhere in all this. We haven’t gotten to that direct statement I referred to yet.
Keep in mind that kindness, understanding, and loving care (general characteristics of maternal input) are just as much a requirement for godly manhood as the courage to confront, correct, and discipline wrongdoing. Proverbs 3:3 says “Do not let kindness and truth leave you.” What the world has done, however, is elevate kindness to a place where God’s truth is being sacrificed on the altar of kindness. The result is people are too intimidated to challenge anything clothed in “kindness,” even if it is a wolf. They are terrified at being tagged with the dreaded “hate” label (which is the absolute worst evil on the planet for any upstanding member of the leprous society).
Food For Thought
A father who thinks kindness, love, and understanding has no place in child training is just as much an abuser as a mother who thinks paternal discipline does not have any either. (Maybe we should embroider that and slap it on the wall!)Still more baffling is anyone who gets in the way of society’s insanity is trampled over like a piece of garbage because they suggest a common sense solution according to natural order. Most tragically, however, is parents and truth are not the only casualties whenever God is rejected―the children themselves are devastated by wolves clothed with “kindness” and are damaged in ways society never considered (as mentioned in part 1). These are but a few of the unintended consequences that occur whenever something significant is removed from God’s ecosystem, especially when He has made it clear that those principles must be preserved and honored.
So what does the Bible say is the harm that will befall any child who either despises or does not receive fatherly training? The answer is it says their eyes will be gouged out and they will go blind. As bad as that sounds, however, it is only the first step in a much more dangerous sequel. What could possibly be worse than going blind? The Bible has a definitive and surprising answer to that question.
The Eye That Mocks A Father!
Now it is time to share the direct statement the Bible makes about children who despise their fathers. Interestingly, (as you will see from the verse I am about to give you) the same thing happens when children reject maternal care as well. For now I will deal with only the first half of Proverbs 30:17, which says,
“The eye that mocks a father,
and scorns a mother,
[the NASB margin says the word ‘scorns’ is literally, ‘despises to obey’]
Because part 2 of this series of articles is dealing with the removal of paternal training from society, I will focus only on the statement about the fathers, but keep in mind that rejecting paternal or maternal training creates the same serious problem for children.
The first thing to notice about the first half of the verse is what is being addressed: surprisingly, it is not an outward act of disobedience by children toward their fathers; it is a nonverbal response, which is an indicator of the child’s inward attitude. The verse says, “the eye that mocks a father,” which means this warning is about something as simple as a look of disgust. The verse has skipped over outward acts of rebellion and has focused on the inward attitude of every child toward fatherly training. Children may comply outwardly with what dad says, but God knows that is not enough. God knows children need a heart of obedience to remain safe, not just outward compliance. Parents who train outward behavior but neglect the inward attitude of their child are missing something crucial. Their intentions might be good but the warning still applies.
I’m sure you have heard the expression, “I’m sitting down on the outside, but standing up on the inside!” That statement describes inward rebellion. The phrase is sometimes used in a good way to describe a kidnap victim who has refused to be defeated by their torturers, even though they are forced to submit physically. The problem is the phrase also describes the inward attitude every child gets toward the godly input of their fathers at one time or another in their life. Outwardly they may obey, but inwardly they despise every moment of the instruction. They mock the instruction in their hearts because they are young and naïve and have no idea how dangerous that defiance is. Let me explain.
Two Kinds Of Fear
Most people are not aware of the continuous theme running through the Book of Proverbs. Every individual proverb is amazing and can stand alone as invaluable wisdom. However, we often get caught up in the splendor of those individual verses and miss the broader context which makes each of them so effective. What I am trying to say is those individual treasures are meaningless if we neglect the overarching theme in the Book of Proverbs. There is something behind all those principles which must be in place in order for those principles to produce their intended effect. Proverbs 30:17 (which appears near the end of Proverbs) is referring back to that overall theme, and is warning every youth (and their parents) about a horrible snare that awaits anyone who ignores the overall theme.
The best way to describe this theme is to describe the two different kinds of fear in the Bible. One of those fears we are commanded never to do, while the other we are commanded to always do. The fear we must never have is the terror kind, the one that frightens us and makes us shrink back in horror. Unfortunately heavy-handed, tyrannical parenting creates exactly that kind of fear in children. The other fear we are commanded to always have is “the fear of the Lord.” This fear does not terrorize or cause anyone to cower; instead, it is a pure fear that can be described as reverence, respect, and honor in a heart.
When someone has the “fear of the Lord” it does not mean they are deathly afraid of God, or are terrorized about doing the wrong thing. Yet the world thinks this is exactly what it means because they do not know God. Having the “fear of the Lord” means we have encountered the living God and because we know what He is truly like, we honor Him so much we want to do right thing from our heart, no matter how much it might costs us to do so. Having the fear of the Lord means we esteem God so highly above everything else, that out of our reverence for Him we will gladly choose to obey Him in love and humility (which is a great definition of sincere Christianity). This is the kind of reverence parents are charged with making sure grows in the hearts of their children. To say that is no small task is indeed an understatement.
The reason the “fear of the Lord” is so important is because the entire Book of Proverbs is saying that this fear is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, without that reverence in a heart, real learning cannot begin. A child may develop academically, yes, but they cannot begin growing in real life wisdom until a true reverence for God (and their parents) has fermented in their heart. This is precisely why all those great principles in the individual proverbs are meaningless without the overall theme of the book (the fear of the Lord) being in our hearts.
The fear of the Lord is something only God can give our children, and something parents are charged with cultivating, tending, and keeping the weeds from choking out. It is also something parents can corrupt, or become a stumbling block to, if they are not careful. This concept is so crucial to everyone’s relationship with God, the Book of Proverbs states right up front in chapter 1 that the intention of the book is to teach youth this wisdom. That is what it means when it says to give “youth knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:4). Then it follows up that declaration by saying “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Most of us read right past that (including yours truly) to get to what we think is the good stuff. We think we already know about the “fear of the Lord” stuff, when in reality we miss the fact that it is a profound attitude of the heart which makes everything else work. We think we understand, but we don’t.
This reverence in our hearts, a deep respect for God and His ways, an esteem for whatever God wants over anything we might want, provides the very basis for our relationship with Him. Without that we can never be sincere; instead, we become a warped perversion like the Pharisees. It does not matter if we apply all the incredible “principles” because in the end we will miss the mark due to the absence of that one crucial thing. This is why whenever a parents sees “the eye that mocks a father, and scorns a mother,” it must be dealt with as if that look was a blatant act of rebellion (because in God’s eyes it is). Because parents miss this, they often teach the principles, but neglect the soil in which those principles grow. Parents can say great things to their kids and offer them tremendous insights, but those things cannot germinate because the soil on which they are being sown is despising (and attacking) all that great seed beneath the surface. This is how children who are taught the right things about God sometimes end up so evil, because of the absence of the “reverence of the Lord” in their heart in their youth. Toward the end of the Book of Proverbs it harkens back to this vital concept of the “fear of the Lord” by explaining exactly what will happen to any child if they despise and do not repent of that lack of reverence. The Bible states in plain language where and how that child will end up if they do not change.
There is more to say about the fear of the Lord, of course, but I need to continue with the original progression I began in Proverbs 30:17.
The second half of Proverbs 30:17 describes the invisible trap that waits around the corner for everyone who despises parental authority and why it is so dangerous. Right after saying “the eye that mocks a father, and scorns a mother,” it says . . .
“the ravens of the valley will pick it out,
and the young eagles will eat it.”
This second half of the verse is actually describing two stages of the trap. The first stage is when the birds of prey come along and pick out that “mocking eye.” (The fact that they will do this is a promise). The first thing birds of prey do when they come upon what they think will be their next meal is to skittishly pick out the eyes. They do this because they are not sure if the thing is really dead or not, or if it is just lying in wait to pounce on them to make them their next meal. Birds of prey are smart. They know nothing can “fake it” through the gouging out of its eyes. If the animal is really incapacitated, it will not move. If it has enough strength to fight back it has to do so blind now. To birds of prey this is a win-win situation and is therefore the first tactic they use on the scene.
What does that mean for the child with the mocking eye? It means waiting right around the corner for them is a vast, dark kingdom of evil spirits which are represented by those birds of prey. The first goal of that kingdom is to pluck out the mocking eye, which means mocking child is headed for blindness. They are destined to become devoid of any discernment whatsoever, and will therefore blunder into all sorts of evils (which will astonish both them and their parents) because they have no idea where they are going or how to escape these dangers. This is what a lack of reverence does to every heart on the planet. It renders them blind! The heart that honors is a heart that can learn; a heart that despises is a darkened chamber without any discernment because it has already been snared by the first part of a two part trap. This is why Proverbs warns every youth (and parent) that the “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs could not be more literal in what it means and begins by declaring this truth right up front! Every youth who continues through the rest of the Book of Proverbs is supposed to discover exactly what kind of trap they will face if the fear of the Lord is not in their hearts. All parents must teach their children these things! They must explain the principles of Proverbs 30:17 so their child can combat that despising which will inevitably rise up in their heart toward their parents. “Watch over your heart with all diligence,” Proverbs 4:23 goes on to day, “for from it flow the springs of life.”
The 100% reliable result of the despising and mocking of parental authority (or any authority in general) is blindness. This is both God’s warning and His promise. So what can be worse than total blindness? What could be worse than having all the lights go out so that we cannot see or discern anything dangerous? Part 2 of the trap is actually worse than part 1. It says,
“and the eagles will eat it.”
What does that mean? The eagles represent a stronger and more formidable class of birds of prey. The smaller birds, the ravens, will pick at the eye and render it blind but the most formidable creatures will come along behind them and actually eat it! They will chew up that child’s seeing instrument and ingest it into themselves. What does that mean? It means the mocking eye has now reached its final stage of deception and devastation. The mocking eye is now not only blind to what is dangerous, that child will now see the world the same way those stronger evil spirits do. That’s right, the child now views the world just like God’s enemies. They are not just blind victims anymore; they have been transformed! They are now perpetrators with a vision to exploit! They are no longer just victims of injustice; they are now perpetrators of that injustice. They have developed to a point where they are in league with the literal enemies of God, which means they are helping to gouge out the eyes of other unsuspecting mockers and despisers. The last state of the mocking child (as a perpetrator) has become worse than the first (as just a blind victim).
Can you see now why the mocking eye is so dangerous for all of us? If that isn’t enough to motivate parents, grandparents, and the children, then nothing will inspire them. They are doomed to stumble into the two part trap and be consumed by darkness. God alone can deliver us and our children from these things, so pray for your children fervently while you train them. Explain these things to them and ask the living God (in their hearing) to give you and your children the “fear of the Lord” according to Jeremiah 33:38-41 which says,
“And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them―to do them good; and I will put the fear [reverence] of Me in their hearts so they will not turn away from Me. [Notice how the tone changes now] And I will rejoice over them to do them good [the Lord is getting excited at this point], and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
The covenant the Lord is referring to in those verses is the one He makes with each of us as born again Christians when we surrender, repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the nature of our great salvation! I assume you also noticed how excited God gets about the “heart” thing. Let me say it again! Do not be a stumbling block to your children’s development in these things. One way you can prevent that from happening is by never allowing their mocking eye to go unchecked when you see it in your children. Instead, explain to them exactly what it will do to them in a way that drives the point home. Then ask the Lord to grant to you that your rod (of discipline) will bud, bloom, blossom, and bear the ripe fruit of reverence, honor, and esteem for the Lord in the heart of your children.
What Does This Mean For The Leprous Society?
In conclusion, can you see more clearly now why it is so dangerous for society to despise the fatherly training of children? Can you understand why a society must never depart from (or despise) strong paternal input without subjecting the next generation to insidious harm? The world absolutely cannot see these things because they are totally blind! The reason they are blind is because they have despised fatherly training for so long. In fact, they are past the blindness stage now, which is why they are trying to get everybody else to catch their leprosy! Their mocking eye has been completely consumed by a stronger class of God’s enemies so they now see the world the way God’s enemies do. The Bible is always true, not only for individuals, but for larger collections of people as well (societies). It also means these things are doubly important for the church, which is intended to represent God’s society in the earth.
Those who have an ear, let them hear what the Spirit of God says to the churches.
If you have never practiced the Biblically based method of training your children through the use of pain (spanking), please read the sequels to this article before you begin. The first one will be entitled, “What Is, And What Ain’t, Spanking?” and will appear in the Godly Parenting tab (see top) of this site.
If you remove spanking (the real kind) from the training in your home, you in effect are removing a form of fatherhood from your children. Please be aware that the world is teaching a corrupted version of fatherhood and motherhood, one that is a counterfeit of what God has prescribed for true fathers and mothers. Don’t get sucked into the deceptions of a society that not only mocks, but despises and hates true fatherhood―so much so that it is trying to abolish it altogether! Society has become so blind to the treasure of godly fatherhood, its mocking eye has already been consumed by larger birds of prey. Their mocking eye now stares out at the world like Egore’s! They honestly believe that leprosy (feeling no pain) is the best form of training since sliced bread.
I will close with a passage of Scripture from Malachi 4:5-6, which the Lord has arranged to appear in the Bible just before God announces the glad tidings of His new covenant in Jesus (through John the Baptist).
“Behold I am going to send you Elijah the prophet [John the Baptist] before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”
It is interesting that according to Luke 1:17, the angel that was sent from God to the father of John the Baptist tells him that his son will “turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children, [and as a result of that] the disobedient to the heart of the righteous . . .
