Doing Violence to Words

As one who reads, teaches and loves God's word, I appreciate the precision and impact of words to effectively communicate with others.  For a long time I have made it a regular practice to observe the way people use words and the intended meaning behind them.  During my lifetime I have seen words come and go as they fall out of favour.  I have observed the definitions of words morph and change over time.  While I am all for biblical translations in a modern language people can understand, I am also cognisant simplifying words is like adding water to stew.  At some stage words can be so watered down we can hardly recognise the soupy mixture we are swallowing.

God exposed the sins of His people in Zephaniah 3:4:  "Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law."  The prophets and priests in Jerusalem were guilty of breaking the Law of Moses--doing violence to it by their perverse justifications and oral traditions.  At times I have heard people do violence to God's word by pulling verses out of context, and people also do violence to the English language to advance their own agenda.  Today I read an article that termed corporal punishment as violence that should be outlawed, and this is certainly not an accurate representation of the facts.  While abuse has certainly occurred under the guise of corporal punishment or discipline, the foray into criminal behaviour that injures children should in no way disparage Bible-based disciplinary methods.

In his 1828 Dictionary, Webster defined "violence" in this way (condensed):  "Physical force; strength of action or motion; 2. Moral force; vehemence; 3. Outrage; unjust force; 4. Eagerness; vehemence. 5. Injury; infringement; 6. Injury; hurt; 7. Ravishment; rape."  This description shows violence is far more than physical or moral force:  it is unjust, vehement, intended to injure, humiliate and subjugate.  Violence does not provide any allowance for the love of others, the fear of God or having constructive purpose aside from inflicting intentional harm.  There are those who sadly have suffered violence at the hands of people closest to them, but to say corporal discipline cannot be administered humbly, consistently, and in an age-appropriate manner is misguided.  Discipline may sting, but it does not mean anyone was injured.  Parents who fear God and know they will be judged by Him are led to have self-control, compassion and mercy in all they say and do as they rear their children.

Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly."  Parents who discipline their children in a God-honouring way are looking out for the well-being of their children presently with an eye on their future.  It must be love that guides our hands in discipline--never anger, wrath, malice or bitterness.  While the flesh quickly and easily lashes out to assert self, love is longsuffering and moves carefully with the good of others in mind.  Devoid of God's love, discipline at the mercy of easily offended flesh can easily cross the boundary into sin.  As God's people, let us ensure we never venture towards violence in our relationships with anyone because we are guided by God's love for us.