Spoilt Beyond Repair
I remember something that happened when I was still a teenager, it stays with me till today. That time, if a teenager is reported to our church to have insulted an adult, stolen, or carried out other similar acts, the teenager will be laid down in front of the church on a Sunday and flogged. I remember watching others get flogged, I prayed it didn't get to me.
Like it or not, it was discipline, and we behaved well. One day I washed my elder brother's trousers and found a 500 naira note, I took the money happily and started budgeting what to buy with it. Before I finished washing, my brother walked up to me and asked if I had seen some money in his clothes while washing them. I wanted to lie, but couldn't, I told him "yes".
He told me that he saw when I found the money in his pocket and wanted to know if I will say the truth. So this is how I would have been flogged in church. As at then, I did everything respectfully and honestly, I can't remember insulting my parents even for once, because of the fear of being disciplined in front of many people, could be humiliating, so I avoided at all cost.
But just this evening, I saw a teenager beating up the mother and insulting the handicapped father, and saying that nothing will happen. The teenagers that were disciplined back then didn't commit offense of this nature, because there was high level of discipline. But now, kids will be comfortably disrespecting elders, and there will be nobody to discipline them, not even the parents.
The church used to be concerned in the way the kids were being brought up, in my opinion I will say I like those days where you will be called out in church and disciplined if you misbehaved. But now even the adults are also misbehaving. The Bible made it clear; "spare the rod and spoil the child". Now that the rod is being spared, kids have spoilt beyond repair in this age.
Like it or not, it was discipline, and we behaved well. One day I washed my elder brother's trousers and found a 500 naira note, I took the money happily and started budgeting what to buy with it. Before I finished washing, my brother walked up to me and asked if I had seen some money in his clothes while washing them. I wanted to lie, but couldn't, I told him "yes".
He told me that he saw when I found the money in his pocket and wanted to know if I will say the truth. So this is how I would have been flogged in church. As at then, I did everything respectfully and honestly, I can't remember insulting my parents even for once, because of the fear of being disciplined in front of many people, could be humiliating, so I avoided at all cost.
But just this evening, I saw a teenager beating up the mother and insulting the handicapped father, and saying that nothing will happen. The teenagers that were disciplined back then didn't commit offense of this nature, because there was high level of discipline. But now, kids will be comfortably disrespecting elders, and there will be nobody to discipline them, not even the parents.
The church used to be concerned in the way the kids were being brought up, in my opinion I will say I like those days where you will be called out in church and disciplined if you misbehaved. But now even the adults are also misbehaving. The Bible made it clear; "spare the rod and spoil the child". Now that the rod is being spared, kids have spoilt beyond repair in this age.
