Parental Romans 10:3

Romans 10:3 talks about people trying to establish their own righteousness but they themselves are ignorant of the righteousness of God.  That is it is their OWN definition of righteousness and not the basis using God's HOLY Law which is the only measuring stick of right and wrong in society.  So how does parental Romans 10:3 happen?  It typically happens in the non-Christian home which can take form of the following:

The first extreme is abusive parenting
  • Sad but true but many parents in the Orient for a LONG time have been known to be abusive and controlling of their children.  This is where parenting standards are based on  their OWN rules rather than using the Bible as the basis for right and wrong.  That is they only discipline their children for their own convenience rather than because they have broken God's Law.  This is what some may want to call "Communist parenting", "Nazi parenting" or in short dictatorial parenting.  This also involves harsh forms of discipline like making do crazy punishments like making the child kneel on salt, hanging the child from the roof, putting the child in the sack with smoke below rather than just the typical spanking.  How true indeed for Proverbs 13:24 that spare the rod then instruments of cruelty can come in.

The second extreme is SPOILING the child
  • This is also dangerous.  Pampering and spoiling are two different things.  To pamper is when a parent treats a child properly, spends time with them but it still involves doing the task of giving discipline to them.  However spoiling means deliberate (and oftentimes done on  PURPOSE) failure to discipline the child.  It doesn't always take form in giving them all that they want, even those who are not rich can spoil their child by telling them they are right even when they are wrong or in short, calling what is wicked as good and good as evil which also results to covering up the wrongdoings and the child NEVER learning from their mistakes.  That is totally an abomination (Isaiah 5:20).  Children need to be spanked and scolded whenever they do not conform to moral principles for their own good.  Proverbs 29:15 says that the mother is put to shame for spoiling the child.

As said, this is all a result of man trying to establish their own righteousness and abandoning the righteousness of God.  True Christian discipline is God-centered, not self-centered.  Both categories above can create abusive parents, criminals, harlots, etc. because of the result of man's righteousness being but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  There is after all a balance between what man can do if they please to and what man should do in exchange for their freedom, between authority and subordinate, between law and freedom, etc.as neither dictatorship nor leniency can create an effective democracy.  True freedom of a country is for the people, by the people and FOR the people which laws and policies are made to keep the country in peace, not always a majority wins situation!